


Stand By Me

by RyTheMusicAddict



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Light Angst, Mint Eye, Reader is Main Character (Mystic Messenger), Reader-Insert, Recovering Choi Saeran, She/Her Pronouns for Main Character (Mystic Messenger), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:13:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 24,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25804183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RyTheMusicAddict/pseuds/RyTheMusicAddict
Summary: In which you're just what he needs to get his life back.-------------------------on hiatus.PREVIOUSLY KNOWN AS: Have We Met? (In which you always manage to find yourselves in the same place together)
Relationships: Choi Saeran/Main Character, Choi Saeran/Reader
Comments: 49
Kudos: 223





	1. Chapter 1

**Yoosung★**

I feel like I have my mom here nagging me T_T

**Jaehee Kang**

You need to know limits when playing games.

It’s not good to skip sleep.

**MC**

Yeah lolol you won’t be able to focus on the battles when you’re sleep deprived

**Jaehee Kang**

That is not helping.

**Yoosung★**

Won’t energy drinks help me stay awake though?

**Jaehee Kang**

That’s only ruining your health more.

Go to sleep at a reasonable hour.

**Yoosung★**

1 A.M.?

**MC**

No;;

**Jaehee Kang**

What about 11?

**Yoosung★**

Ugh T_T

Do you guys have to keep nagging?;;

Can we change the subject?

**MC**

I would~ but I actually just got to the store

I'll see you guys soon!

  
  


**Yoosung★**

byebye!!

**Jaehee Kang**

Good bye.

_MC has left the chatroom._

At least you weren’t looking completely downward as you left the chatroom, otherwise your forehead would have had a very unpleasant meeting with a street pole. One would think that the hundreds of trips to this very corner store would cause the scenery and outdoor appliances to become engraved in your mind, but the fact that you weren’t looking up combined with the crowded sidewalk caused that bit of your memory to shortly blur.

The automated bells triggered by the door opening rang through the small store. The cashier flashed a friendly grin, which you quickly returned before making a beeline to your favorite snack, the very thing you had come for.

You always had a habit of observing the people around you, and today was no exception. A girl with vibrant blonde hair who looked no older than fourteen, holding the hand of a smaller boy, one who could have been her clone; a man with white hair and unique mint colored eyes looking down at his phone instead of shopping; an older man trying to decide what brand of soda to buy, obviously painfully indecisive; a woman holding a baby that was dressed in the _cutest_ bear jacket you had ever seen. Why you had developed this habit, you didn’t know. It could be useful, though, in the event of a crime in giving a witness account. What are the odds of that, though?

Your eyes naturally wandered back to the man with white hair, who was now browsing the sweets section. Something about his facial features reminded you of someone else you had seen before. Maybe you had seen him before and hadn’t remembered? He looked eerily similar…

He must have seen you staring at him for a few seconds too long from the corner of his eye, because he glanced up at you and gave an awkward smile. You did the same and quickly looked away, internally slapping yourself for allowing the moment to occur. He _did_ look familiar, though.

Your phone began to buzz in your pocket which snapped your attention away from the people in the store with you. It caught the attention of a few people around you when you took it out of your pocket, now blasting the ringtone that was partially muted before. Seven’s picture was on the screen, so you answered the call with a small smile.

“Hey Seven! What’s up?” You spoke quietly. In front of you, you saw the man’s head snap up, and his eyes wandered in your direction, but seemed to stop at your feet. 

Seven was mainly complaining about his boss being demanding and wearing him out, and he just wanted to call you in order to have someone to listen to him for the moment. Nothing was too notable, save for the man’s unusual behavior as soon as you mentioned Seven’s name. It seemed like he was intently listening to your every word, and his attention gave you an odd feeling and kept hovering in your mind, almost like an itch you couldn’t scratch. Each possible explanation seemed possible, yet improbable. And the question would forever remain unanswered…

...or so you thought.

~*~

It was a miracle that you managed to seize a seat on the subway; most days, you got on the train later than most other people at your stop, so the seats were taken up, but today was different to your delight. You watched the other passengers feed in behind you and fill up the seats, but one particular person caught your eye.

The white-haired man you saw at the corner store.

You wouldn’t have remembered him if he hadn’t displayed odd behavior at your mention of Seven a few days back, but maybe it’s just because his image stuck in your mind that you recognised him again. If he lived in the area, it would make sense that you wind up in the same place a couple times. You shook it off and looked down at your phone while slipping your earbuds in your ears and turning on your favorite music.

**707**

Argh;;

;;;;

**MC**

Are you okay Seven?

**707**

No;;

I’m trying to find V,

But I was never able to track his phone so I can’t find him that way T_T

I just can’t find a trace of him.

**MC**

When did he go missing?

**707**

It’s hard to say for certain, but he stopped answering calls from anyone a few days after you joined.

And that also happened to be when the hacker went silent and the attacks on the security system stopped.

**MC**

I can’t help but get this feeling that the two were connected;;

**707**

I don’t want to say that...

But he did keep a lot to himself,

And if we’re right about that hacker possibly being part of an organization,

There could maybe be a tiny,

Tiny

Chance

That maybe

They’re connected;;

I don’t like saying that but it’s not impossible.

_Jaehee Kang has entered the chatroom._

**MC**

Hi, Jaehee!

**Jaehee Kang**

Hello.

Luciel, you still haven’t found V?

**707**

I’m trying T_T

He disappeared off the face of the earth.

He must have gotten on a spaceship.

**MC**

Maybe you should follow him into space? lolol

**707**

Oh my!!!!

How I would love to join him among the ★stars★

But no. T_T

**Jaehee Kang**

;;

Please take this seriously.

This is a person’s life we’re talking about here.

**707**

Sorry;

**MC**

At this point he could be anywhere, right?

**707**

It’s been almost a year;;

**Jaehee Kang**

Unfortunately, he could have gotten a new phone by now.

The best option would be if he was living a new life somewhere.

I don’t even want to think about the other possibilities.

**707**

This is a nightmare T_T

**MC**

A bit off topic;;

but Jaehee, do you want to meet up for lunch today?

**Jaehee Kang**

Sure, it’s been a while

**707**

Ooh~

**Jaehee Kang**

There’s a place near the C&R building

**707**

Can I come?

**Jaehee Kang**

Do you want to go there?

**MC**

Yeah, sounds nice ^^

**707**

Meow

**Jaehee Kang**

Alright, I’ll see you around noon ^^

I need to focus on work now.

Goodbye.

_Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom._

**707**

Congrats on the date

**MC**

What are you on, Seven?

**707**

4 cans of Ph.D Pepper to keep myself awake

I’ve been working so long to find him T_T

**MC**

Maybe this is bigger than just you?

Maybe you need some help.

**707**

I feel insulted.

But you’re not wrong.

I’m not going to stop until I know where he is or where he ended up.


	2. Chapter 2

The discord and cacophony of the busy restaurant could be heard even as you stood outside, waiting for Jaehee while leaning against a street pole. Your nose and mouth were covered by your scarf to avoid the chill of the harsh winter air invading your lungs. The thick snow was concealing the familiar street in what seemed to be a wall of fog, only allowing about 20 feet of sight around you. 

Your phone was in hand, but only so that you would notice if Jaehee texted or called. Your eyes were panning around at the people around you in a coup d’œil while lingering. A woman, wearing an exasperated facial expression, while carrying a struggling and screaming toddler. A man carrying several shopping bags while trailing behind who you assumed to be his girlfriend, who was strutting in beautiful heels and a beautiful black and white shirt dress. A man who… 

Again. 

_How…?_

Two times may have been a coincidence, but three was too convenient. Your eyes locked for a split second, and in that time, you could see his widen and his brows lower in panic. He began to walk quickly in the other direction, away from you. Stalking? But _why?_ And if not, why did he react the way he did when you saw him? You were just about to turn your phone on and text Seven about this, but just as you hit the button, you felt a warm hand on your shoulder, and you turned to look into a pair of warm brown eyes.

“Hey, did you already grab something to eat?” Jaehee asked. Your eyes quickly flickered from her face to the direction that the white-haired man went, and by the time you looked, he was gone from sight. As much as the sighting bothered you, you tried to shake it off for the time being in order to enjoy your lunch with your friend.

“Was I supposed to?” You cocked your head once your gaze redirected to her.

“I just thought that you might have grabbed something and ate it already. I’m a bit late, I’m sorry about that,” she chuckled. You let a small grin claim your face—not that she could see it through your scarf—and shook your head.

“No, I haven’t,” you spoke, “I wanted to eat with you, that’s why I invited you.”

A smile grew on her face and she flicked her head before turning and heading toward the restaurant. You took a few steps to follow her, but the hairs on the back of your neck seemed to stand up. You once again looked back, and locked eyes with the same man, who seemed to be trying to avoid your sight seeming to use the thick snowfall to his advantage. However, his silhouette could still be seen. 

_Why?!_

All doubts in your mind that he was stalking you vanished the moment you saw him again. Was it because of the phone call with Seven that he overheard? He must have seen you looking back, as he quickly disappeared from your sight. You quickly decided you needed to stay beside Jaehee, as you didn’t exactly feel safe standing alone.

~*~

“No, I haven’t read the past chatrooms. What did he say?” You placed your elbows on the table and leaned in closer in order to hear her clearer over the noise that showed no signs of dwindling.

“He got the lead role in the new musical he was trying out for!” Jaehee seemed like she would have bounced on the balls of her feet if she was standing up. Her happy eyes were infectious and you felt yourself gasp. This was big for him; he talked a lot about how big the production for this musical was, and how many people it would reach.

You were close with everyone in the RFA, no particular person more than the others, but Zen considered you a close friend. You could see the worry behind his letters in the chatroom and laced in his words over phone calls. This was a huge opportunity for him, and you were proud, but you knew that he must have been incredibly nervous on the inside. You made a mental note to catch him in a chatroom and check on him when you finished lunch with Jaehee. 

If you could pay the check with the amount of time you fangirled with her, you could have enough money to pay for not only your meal, but everyone else’s who was in the restaurant as well. Your great felt full as you listened to her go on and on about her favorite performances and musicals by him. It made you want to sit down and listen to her for hours, but both you and her were on lunch break, so you had to part ways soon after finishing your food. You returned to your monotonous work after saying goodbye, with no additional incidents with the man who you assumed was stalking.

_I should tell Seven._

~*~

The next week’s snow wasn’t any more forgiving than before. Instead, the wrath of winter was intensifying more and more as the hours passed. Your skin didn’t need to be in contact with the bus window in order to feel the chill radiating from the glass a few inches away. Unique patterns made from frost coated the outside, and though it stung slightly, you found it intriguing to press your fingertips to the window and melt the thin layer. Your phone began to buzz, and your eyes snapped down to read the notifications from the chatroom.

**707**

You said you had something you wanted to tell me?

**MC**

Yeah, I think there’s been someone following me for about a week now.

I see him everywhere;;

**707**

Oh wow.

What does this guy look like?

**MC**

I might have seen him before because his face is familiar

White hair, greenish eyes

I’ve never talked to him though so I don’t know anything

But we always end up in the same place and it’s a bit scary;;

**707**

Do you want me to try to look into it?

I could probably hack into security cameras near you if you see him and see what this guy looks like

I could work from there

**MC**

You could?

That would make me feel a lot better, thank you

**707**

Just let me know next time you see him, and tell me where you are.

Defender of Justice will save you!

**MC**

lolol thanks

You breathed a sigh of relief after reading his messages, already feeling safe from the man. It was just too favorable to be several coincidences; it was an uncomfortable amount of run-ins over the past week. He hadn’t done anything dangerous, but it was enough to keep you on-edge, and Seven’s words greatly calmed you.

~*~

In hindsight, maybe it would have been better to go to change your routine. Through the flickering lights of the corner store you visited regularly, above the short aisles and shelves, on the opposite end, browsing the freezers…

_Again._

You ducked down as if you were looking on something near the floor and scrambled to pry your phone from your jacket packet. In your panic, you nearly dropped it to the floor, but still successfully managed to dial Seven’s phone number.

 _Come on, come on…!_ You shook your leg restlessly while waiting for him to pick up.

 _“Hello?”_ His cheery words sang in your ear.

“Seven,” you tried your best not to alert other patrons with your hushed hisses, “He’s here again. Please.”

 _“Where are you?”_ His humorous act dropped within seconds. You quietly told him the address of the store, and just as you heard quiet, aggressive typing, a loud _beep!_ hurt your ear. Simultaneously, as if planned, the lights died, leaving you and everyone else in near-complete darkness, save for the light of day out a few small windows. The sounds of the buzzing vents and freezers fell silent as well. The store seemed lifeless for a few seconds before you heard the back door open and an employee step out. His loud voice projected through the small space to address the issue, and while he rambled about a few different things, only two words stuck in your head.

"...power outage..."


	3. Chapter 3

_Shit…!_

You looked at your phone to see that you completely lost service following the outage, which explained why the call with Seven dropped. You had blocked out the man’s voice after he revealed the source of the problem, but another echoed from behind you.

“Who do you think you are?”

The sudden harsh words caused you to jump, and you fell back on the floor from your squatting position.

“What…?” You looked up to see him standing with his arms crossed, towering over you. Your breath caught in your throat and you quickly moved to stand up and look him in the eye, only to find that he still stood a couple inches taller than you. A chill of light fear snaked its way down your spine through to your fingertips as you stared into his cold eyes. 

“You heard me.” He quickly looked you up and down, “Why the hell are you following me everywhere?”

 _What?_ You creased your eyebrows in bafflement and huffed.

“Excuse me?” You tried to act as confident as him, but he was even more intimidating than you thought. “You think _I’ve_ been following _you?_ ” He rolled his eyes.

“Why do I see you everywhere, then?” He scoffed and shifted his weight. 

“You’re the one following me!” You accused.

“So we’re following _each other_? Cool, sure.” Sarcasm heavily coated his words, and you purse your lips.

“What if it’s just a coincidence? A damn weird coincidence that we have the same routines.”

“If that’s what we’re going to say.” He shook his head and again scanned your body. “What are you even wearing? There’s a fucking blizzard out there that just knocked out the power and you look like you’d freeze within thirty seconds.”

You were wearing a jacket, jeans and boots because you weren’t expecting to be out for longer than about twenty minutes. You _also_ weren’t expecting to have your outfit choice picked apart by the one person who you believed to be following you everywhere.

“Why should you care?”

“I’m just questioning your choices.” The burning stare picking you apart caused you to reel back.

“Question me all you want, then. Who are you?”

“Someone who happens to be in the same place as you all the time, apparently. What do you even do for work? I see you on the subway a lot.” His shoulders seemed to relax and his arms dropped to his sides. His change in stance helped you calm down, though you found it odd that he was leading the conversation toward something more casual.

“Not much, I’m just a boring office worker. What about you?”

He seemed to think for a moment before answering, “Coding. Not anything important, I should probably quit.” When he shrugged, his jacket seemed to fall off of his shoulder, exposing his tank top. _And he thinks he can belittle me._

His jacket also exposed a light tattoo, which almost looked like it was in the process of laser removal. You could see a strange eye. He noticed you examining his tattoo, and he immediately pulled his jacket back up to hide it. It was clear he didn’t like it, which lined up with the fact that it looked like he was getting rid of it. You decided not to pry.

“So what do you do at this store so much? Do you live nearby like me?”

“The store near my place doesn’t sell my favorite ice cream. This place does.”

Seeing him this close with a more calm expression allowed you to realise that he looks eerily familiar. “Have I seen you somewhere?”

“Only six times this week on the street. What kind of question is that?”

 _That was a dumb question._ “No, I mean I feel like I’ve seen your face somewhere else. Do you have a twin or something?” You and him shared a quick chuckle.

“No,” He looked down to his side, “I guess I just have a generic face.”

Your eyes examined his. They were a unique shade of mint green, and a light ring sat around his pupil. How did he have such especial features, yet seem so familiar to you?

~*~

Saeran couldn’t help but laugh. How were you so oblivious? It was almost cute how you couldn’t join the dots. It was clear that you were the same person he led to the apartment a year ago, so naïve and heedless. You weren’t even bothering to ask his name, and he wasn’t going to tell you, he wanted to see how long before you connected things.

Upon noticing your interest in his eyes, he smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

You shook your head and blinked a few times, supposedly to snap yourself out of your brief daze. Saeran laughed again and you shot him a cold look.

“I’m just trying to figure out where I know you from,” You said. “Is that such a crime?”

“Awfully defensive for someone who was just wanting to look at me.” He lightly teased. He found a part of you charming, cute, intriguing. He almost wanted to know more.

“I should be getting home.” You spoke bluntly.

“You came to a store and you’re not going to buy anything?”

“The power is out and I don’t have cash, I don’t know if the card reader is going to work, and the groceries can wait until tomorrow or something. I don’t know.” 

“You can’t walk home dressed like that in this weather.” He quickly spat out. 

“What are you, my mom? I’ll do what I want.”

“It’s colder than you think and I can’t let anyone just walk in this storm.”

“Alright, and what are you going to do about it?”

“I have a car. I can do something about it and drive you.”

On the surface, it could come off as a kind gesture, and while it was, he really wanted to get to know you, and then the RFA when he was ready. His therapist told him to make amends with his brother, as it was obvious that he was led to believe the wrong things about him. He wanted to get his life back on track since the fall of Mint Eye and the death of both people who were meant to protect him, he wanted a family.

“Really…? How do I know I can trust you?” You were clearly skeptical.

“I can tell you my full address if that would make you comfortable. I could help you, and I thought I would at least offer.”

You squinted your eyes and swept them over his body again. After a moment, you slowly nodded.

“Okay.”

_(I’m going to be taking a few days off, I’m getting my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow and I would like to rest. Thank you for understanding, my loves.)_


	4. Chapter 4

“Thank you so much,” you began to shiver as you stepped out of his warm car. He nodded once and wordlessly drove away once you shut the door. You turned and began to walk into the apartment building, pulling out your phone as you did so.

_9 missed calls from 707._

_13 new messages from 707._

_Shit,_ you thought as you opened the text messages.

**707**

Why’d you hang up?

Omg are you okay??

I can’t get into the cameras

It says they’re off and inactive

What happened to you???

Are you okay?

Please answer me!!

Please answer my calls!

I’m able to get in now!

Where are you???

Neither of you are there????

Are you okay?

Oh god what happened???

Your heart sank as you saw the worry weaved in his words, you could practically hear his voice screaming out each syllable. You nearly ran into someone in the lobby as you began typing out your response.

**MC**

I’m okay, the power just got knocked out for a bit

I got home safe

**707**

He’s not at the store anymore either, he didn’t follow you right??

**MC**

I mean, he gave me a ride home

**707**

You got in a car

With the man

Who was stalking you?

How naive are you???

You need to be more careful!

**MC**

Calm down

Turns out he wasn’t stalking, we just happened to be in the same place at the same time all the time

**707**

Are you sure he wasn’t just saying that?

What was his name?

**MC**

…

You know, that’s a good question

**707**

This is a bad joke

You’re joking

This isn’t funny

Stop it

**MC**

;;

**707**

You’re going to run into him again

Make sure you’re smart that time, okay?

**MC**

You’re being quite harsh

He was actually kinda nice

**707**

You’re too trusting

At least get his name next time so I can track this guy down

**MC**

Okay;;

I kind of want to get to know him more

**707**

Let me look into who he is before you tell him too much

You already let him know where the apartment is

**MC**

He doesn’t know the exact room though

**707**

You think that makes it okay?

Give him your information then, sure

That’ll be a good idea

**MC**

Stop.

I was stupid, okay?

When I see him again I’ll be more careful

Is that what you want to hear?

**707**

I can only protect you to an extent.

I care about your safety

But if you want to put yourself in danger

I can’t stop you

As much as his passive-aggressive messages angered you, he was right. You had to remind yourself that this was a stranger, you forgot to ask for his name and you barely exchanged any meaningful conversation, and you unknowingly let him know the address of the apartment building that you “lived” at—you never really _left_ Rika’s apartment, it was nicer than your small house you lived in previously and it was more comfortable. 

The questions floating in your mind for the past year began to surface again. What happened to Unknown who led you to this apartment? Why did he? If the address and password were classified and only known by a select few people, how did Unknown know it?

Another itch that couldn’t be scratched; more questions that couldn’t be answered.

Infuriating.

_(Sorry for the slower uploads, I’m still recovering from the surgery;; The chapters may be a bit shorter than usual but I just want to write and get things published for you guys. School just started up again as well ^^;)_


	5. Chapter 5

The deafening sound of the wind invaded Saeran’s ears, and the chill locked in the air bit his nose and the tips of his fingers unpleasantly. The cold was never kind to him. He had to force himself to wear a jacket in order to cover his shoulder, causing the fabric to rub against it. It was not only a painful reminder of his past, but physically painful now that he was going through laser removal. It stung and burned enough to warm his whole body, and he resented it. He almost regretted leaving the house at all.

Almost.

His questions were answered and it was the best—maybe not _best,_ but certainly _funniest—_ situation. Upon talking to you and analysing your answers and seeing you up close, he could recognise your face; you were the girl he led to the apartment just before the fall of Mint Eye. What are the odds? Your face flashed in his mind again and his therapist’s words from a few months ago echoed as well.

* * *

_“Do you know of any way to get in contact with him?” She looked at his face, though his eyes were downcast. He stayed silent, and she almost wondered if he even knew she was still there. “...Saeran-”_

_“I heard you,” he cracked, but immediately bit his tongue, disgruntled. He was getting better over the past nine months, but he snapped again. Maybe it’s because it’s about_ him. 

_How could he…? He had nearly rebuilt a whole new life for himself, all that was left was to rekindle a friendly (or at least non-hostile) relationship with him. How could he get in contact with his brother without returning to the very thing that held him back before? Hacking was a painful task now but it seemed that was the only way._

_“It doesn’t have to happen immediately,” his therapist spoke up, “just make sure to think about how to find him and talk. He won’t hate you.”_

* * *

You.

 _You’re_ the thing he needs to get his life fully back. Surely you were still in the RFA—even if not, he could find a workaround. But was he _really_ going to use you? He was trying to become a better person...

~*~

“I’d thought we’d run into each other again,” you heard his voice from behind you. You turned around and met his blue-green eyes, the subtly charming glint failing to mask the inhibition lying within. 

“What a surprise,” you crossed your arms and shifted your weight, holding a sarcastic grin. He stayed stone-faced, and hearing the tone in your voice caused the unease to melt away into guile. Picking apart the emotion in his eyes rendered the bustle of the mall around you seemingly figmental.

“You’re awfully interested in staring at me.”

“Like I said, you look like someone I know.”

He flicked an eyebrow. “Who?”

“I don’t know, all I know is that I’ve seen your face before.”

“We’ve only run into each other hundreds of times on the street.” His voice gripped as much thick sarcasm as your cheeky grin, which you quickly dropped.

“What’s your name?” The words were flowing from your mouth faster than you could think about what you were saying, but it was an important question. “We’re going to see each other a lot and there’s nothing either of us can do about that, why not get to know each other further?”

He twisted his mouth and squinted his eyes, looking you up and down for a moment before finally speaking, “Saeran.”

“That’s a pretty name.” You tilted your head slightly and offered a small smile. He seemed taken aback at your comment; he probably wasn’t expecting a compliment on something simple as his name. You told him yours and he did nothing more than nod. 

The increasingly busying traffic around you two caused strongly visible discomfort, and you didn’t hesitate to look around for a quieter place close by. Your eyes landed on a small sandwich shop, and it was nearing lunch, so you figured it would be a good place to sit and get to know him a bit more. You look him in the eyes, noticing the anxiety painted all over his face, and motioned to the shop a few stores down. He nodded, and with crossed arms, he walked by your side silently. While moments ago he seemed bold and borderline unreadable, he now seems vulnerable. His anxiety is clear. Though you knew nothing about this man other than his name, you felt a strong need to help him.

_(I am so sorry for the slower updates, depression+school is making things a bit hard. I am working though, I won't stop this story until it's done, I promise. Thank you for the support, my loves.)_


	6. Chapter 6

Downcast eyes, crossed arms, pursed lips… his body language had drastically changed the moment the crowds grew thicker. His gait was observably stiff and it seemed like he was struggling to keep a quick pace like he wanted.

“Do you not like crowds?” You asked when you were starting to get closer to the shop.

“Is it that obvious?” He scoffed. “We all have things we don’t like. I don’t need to explain myself.” He flinched at his own words, but you knew not to question; he was right. He didn’t have any right to comment on your fears, so you figured you wouldn’t either. You entered the doorless store and chose an empty table to sit at, and he followed. He cursed under his breath when he sat down and placed his head in a hand, the other tugging on the collar of his button-up.

“How come you’re not wearing a coat in this weather?” You remarked, referencing one of the first things he had said to you.

“It feels better for me, I don’t like heavy clothing.” He briefly explained. 

“So you’re able to be in the cold in something as light as that,” you gestured to his shirt, and he looked you in the eye with a jaded stare, “yet last we met, you criticised _my_ outfit choice?”

Saeran sighed with the ghost of a dry chuckle, “Call me a hypocrite, then.” He glanced back out at the crowds in the mall common area.

“Hypocrite.” Your smug grin seemed to unravel something in him and melt away the remaining tension left sticking to his muscles. He leaned back in his chair and tilted his head to the side while holding eye contact. “What are you doing at the mall today?”

He shrugged. “They didn’t have what I came to check out, so I was just about to leave.”

“Oh,” you felt a stab of guilt at possibly keeping him here when he didn’t want to be, “you can go if you want.”

“But if I go,” he leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, “I won't be able to talk to a cute girl.”

You felt your face flush at the sudden comment, though he seemed nonchalant, giving a strange feeling along with the flattery. You blinked a few times to snap out of your mind. “...Really?”

“Did I make you blush there? You like me?” He teased with the familiar self-satisfied smile glued to his face accompanying his deriding words. Without looking, you quickly moved your foot to plant firmly on top of his in retaliation, and he reeled back with an uncharacteristic squeal. 

“Ha.” You crossed your legs and revelled in the bitter expression he shot your way.

“If this is what having a friend is like, I don’t want one,” he mumbled. Your eyes opened further at his simple statement, at the implication that he hadn’t any friends, anybody to laugh with. Your shock only intensified when you realised that he had just called you a friend, or something along those same lines.

“You think of me as a friend?” Your voice trailed upward in an emotion you couldn’t pinpoint.

“If friends stomp on each other’s feet.” Saeran’s laugh spread to you in the form of a smaller chuckle. Thinking back to his implications, an idea came to your mind.

“Do you want to meet more people?” You offered, and you were going to leave it at that, but then remembering his reaction to the crowd and his anxiety, you quickly added, “Just about five others. They’re really nice.”

He sucked in a sharp breath without hesitation, “I would rather not.”

“Are you uncomfortable around new people?”

“I’m not a people person,” he seemed to try to make each word quicker and quieter than the one before it. Something about the _mention_ of meeting new people appeared to cause his anxiety to spike, and you regretted bringing up the topic. Just as you were about to apologise for making him uncomfortable, you heard a series of foreign noises coming from his phone. He snapped up and yanked it out of his pocket, and you could practically hear his heartbeat speeding up. He scanned the screen for a few moments before looking back up at you.

“I have to go.” The chair almost knocked back from how quickly he stood up from it.

“What’s going on?” You started to follow him, but he held out his hand to stop you.

“My girlfriend is waiting at home and I am in deep shit if I stay here for another second.”

 _Girlfriend?_ You felt a small pang of dejection at the single word. _But he called me cute…?_

While you were staring down, wrestling with your thoughts that should have been less energetic, Saeran had already turned several corners and was well out of your range of sight.

_I’ll see him again…_

~*~

 _Shit…_ _What the fuck? I didn't kill them. I didn't…!_


	7. Chapter 7

**ZEN**

Do you think he would have done something if you were alone?  
  


**MC**

No, he’s pretty nice.

**Jaehee Kang**

You still shouldn’t let your guard down.

It would be okay under normal circumstances,

but since he was following you, you need to be cautious.  
  


**MC**

I offered to let him meet you guys.

**ZEN**

Really?

What did he say?

**MC**

No luck.

He just said that he wasn’t a people person.

**Jaehee Kang**

That’s…

Almost too convenient.

It would be ideal for us to meet him soon so we can make sure you’re safe

**MC**

I can tell he’s not a bad person.

I still won’t tell him much yet, but I want to become his friend.

I don’t think he has any;;

_707 has entered the chatroom._

**ZEN**

Hey Seven.

Did you find anything about V?

**707**

I am getting nowhere with that.

Did you get his name?

**MC**

Yeah, his name is Saeran.

_707 has left the chatroom._

**Jaehee Kang**

He left...

**ZEN**

Maybe he went to work on finding him?

**Jaehee Kang**

Probably. You don’t know his last name, do you?

**MC**

No.

Your phone started ringing, and you had to leave the chatroom quickly in order to catch it. When you left and answered the call, Seven’s photo showed up.

“Hey, are you okay? You-”

 _“I need his phone number.”_ He interrupted you with the most serious tone you had ever heard from him. You frowned in confusion.

“I don’t have it, why?”

 _“I don’t need to explain myself. Get his phone number and give it to me.”_ He snapped at you, and you felt yourself bring your elbows closer to your sides in fear. He had never been this short-tempered before and it was scary.

“Okay, why are you so touchy?”

_“I’m busy with work, finding V, and now I'm dealing with this. Don’t ask questions, just give me a way to get in contact with him.”_

~*~

The trauma from the fall of Mint Eye and the demolition of Magenta, the place he called home for years, was traumatic enough. The unrelenting, intensifying threats on his life were only making things worse. Just when he thought he sealed a crack in the wall of his privacy, two more would appear, and though they were sloppy, they were quick. It was becoming harder and harder to live a normal life if the tightrope of such he was walking on was being shaken. 

Today, he got several alerts from them, and his bank, concerned about the spontaneous withdrawal of ₩850,000. _Great,_ he thought as he sprinted into his apartment. They couldn’t even wait until they killed him to start draining his assets.

Saeran slammed the door behind him, probably rattling the frame; if it made noise, he couldn't hear it under his heavy breathing and frantic movements. He wasted no time in pulling his phone out and calling his bank to make sure his account got frozen, but if they were able to somehow hack in, who’s to say they won’t get past the freeze?

_But it’s worth a try._

While he pressed his phone to his ear, waiting for an answer, his left hand gravitated to his chest and balled into a fist, taking the fabric of his button-up with it, causing the collar to dig into the back of his neck uncomfortably. He huffed in frustration through clenched teeth. 

_Now, how to do this…?_

~*~

“I haven’t seen him in days.” You shivered as the early evening breeze grazed your cheekbones and blew silky wisps of baby hair away from your temples. You could feel Seven’s burning stare drilling into you.

“Damn.” His voice held a flurry of negative feelings. He had come to the park near the apartment, all the way from his bunker, just to see the guy you’ve met. Maybe the chagrin stemmed from the waste of time.

“Why do you want to meet him so bad?” You asked, bringing up the topic of conversation from a few days prior. You looked up from your lap to your friend sitting beside you, and you saw his face morph from disappointment to vexation.

“Why are you asking questions again?” He released the sentence through a rough sigh.

“You showed no interest in meeting him until I said his name. Do you know him or something?”

He groaned and stood up from the bench, and when you tried to shift to copy him, he held his palm toward you for a brief moment to tell you ‘no.’ “Don’t follow me. Don’t ask questions. Stop trying to get to know more about me, okay?” He zipped up his jacket and another gust of wind blew, tossing his red curls around aimlessly. “Call me if you see him again.”

He left you alone, pacing to his car on the curb. The harsh slam of the door and quick start of the engine told you that your words had more of an effect than you would have expected. He sped away and may as well have left a cloud of dust in his wake.

“Finally, a chance to say hello." 


	8. Chapter 8

“Were you waiting for him to go away?” You didn’t even bother to look back at him; you recognised his voice immediately. He sat down on the bench to your left, right where Seven was moments before.

“Maybe.” Saeran crossed his arms and leaned back, tossing his head back to stare at the cloudy sky. “I actually know him.”

“Yeah, he was acting really weird when I talked about you.” You looked at him, and you heard his breath hitch, and accompanied by his widening eyes, you could practically see the shiver of anxiety running through his body. Perhaps you shouldn’t have said anything.

“What have you said about me?” He still focused on the clouds.

“I only said your name and what you look like, and that we see each other everywhere. Why?”

“And what has _he_ said about me?”

“Nothing really, he just wants to meet you. Which is why he was here. Where have you been?”

“Um…” It seemed like he had something on his mind, perhaps a jumble of thoughts that needed to be unscrambled. “I don’t think I can tell you.”

“So many secrets.” You huffed. He bit his bottom lip and turned his head to look at you, and you met his eyes, which held resignation.

“Can you give me his number?” A heavy sigh did nothing to mask the defeat laced between each syllable. It almost seemed like he was surrendering to something, or someone, maybe himself.

Though your mind was clouded with questions that you knew he wouldn’t answer, you nodded and pulled your phone out of your jacket pocket to comply. After reading out the digits, he opened his mouth to speak. 

“I’ve been to a few RFA parties. You’re the coordinator, aren’t you?” He rubbed the back of his neck.

You pulled back upon hearing his words; is _that_ where you recognised his face from? Maybe he knows the rest of the RFA. “Yeah. Do you know anyone else?”

“I had connections to the leader, and I know that guy through him.” He lightly cringed at his own statement which stirred even more curiosity within you. 

“Do you want to join-”

“No!” He abruptly cut you off, which startled you. “No, I don’t. I’d have to talk to V about that and he and I are exactly in contact anymore.”

“Okay… Do you have any idea where V is? He’s still a missing person.”

“He’s not in Korea, I know that for a fact.” Saeran’s words were shallow, and it was clear he wasn’t telling the full truth. You decided not to prod, though; it wouldn’t get you anywhere.

“That’s what we thought. We’re still working to find him.”

~*~

Saeran, trying to change the subject, said, “Are you guys planning on throwing another party anytime soon?”

“No,” you ran a hand through your hair, “The last party we had was hard enough to prepare for since V was absent, and it wasn’t ideal.”

 _God, stop bringing his name up,_ Saeran had to stop himself from letting out a huff of frustration. You tilted your head and could clearly see that he was agitated. He was thankful you didn’t press, instead shifted the conversation completely.

“So, really, where have you been the past few days? I've been worried.”

_Fearing for my life because I’m sure someone is planning a hit on me._

“I was sick.”

“Oh, I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

 _Why does she care?_ “Thanks,” he leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees, staring straight ahead.

“Are you sure you don’t want to meet them? The members of the RFA, I mean. I’m sure Jumin could let you join as well after talking for a bit. V’s not even the leader since he went missing...” Your words stuck in his mind for a moment. This would give him an opportunity to get closer to his brother, an opportunity to step closer to full recovery, an opportunity to then live the life that was stolen from him. They didn’t have to know he targeted them; you didn’t even know he was the one who led you to the apartment. Maybe it’d be worthwhile…

“I’ll consider it. Give me your number so I can contact you.”

_(i apologise every other chapter ffs but i’m sorry my mind and body are deteriorating please forgive me for the slower uploads;;)_


	9. Chapter 9

Saeran hissed from the stinging pain of applying the antibiotic to his shoulder. It always hurt, but at least the next time would be the last—hopefully, if the professional wasn’t as disgustingly incompetent as the one from the last appointment. Seriously, how hard is it to avoid the skin around the ink? The swelling burns were bad enough when confined to the tattoo, and now he has to deal with excess pain. After washing his hands, he sighed as he sat down at his computer and grabbed his phone off of the desk.

“Can’t believe I’m doing this…” Saeran muttered under his breath as he began typing out the short message for his brother, the quiet words jarring in his silent apartment. Before sending the message, though, his thumb hesitates and he twists his mouth; he almost forgot to change his name from when he texted you, asking if you told Seven about this (and to Saeran’s advantage, you hadn’t yet, and had agreed to keep quiet). He erased his words and changed his name.

_No turning back…_

**Unknown**

Hello, 707.

**707**

Unknown??

Saeran reeled back in shock, as he wasn’t expecting an instant reply. He hadn’t even yet thought about what to say next.

_Guess I just need to spit it out…_

**Unknown**

I need your help.

**707**

I’ll do it.

_Isn’t this too easy? I was expecting something else…_

**Unknown**

Uh… okay.

**707**

But

I need repayment.

_There it is._

**Unknown**

What is it?

**707**

Let me meet you.

I want to know who you are, and your motives for hacking our messenger and sending MC to Rika’s apartment.

Clearly you know who I am to ask for my help with something, but I don’t know you.

It’s only fair, don’t you think?

_It would need to happen eventually…_

**Unknown**

Maybe after you help me.

I can’t say why, but my life is in danger. They’re targeting me and sending death threats

And I can’t find them on my own.

I would appreciate your help ^^;

**707**

Damn.

Got a number?

**Unknown**

I got a message a while ago but they covered their tracks before I could find anything.

Shit’s been crazy.

They recently got to my bank account.

I can’t predict what they’re going to do next.

**707**

I don’t think I need to say this;;

But make sure your security is tight

**Unknown**

Wow, thanks genius, haven’t thought of that.

**707**

Yeah, yeah;;

Make sure you get to things as quickly as possible.

Send me anything I can help with.

I’ll be on it.

Saeran couldn’t help but laugh. He was asking his own brother for help, who he believed had stabbed him in the back and abandoned him for _years._ Within mere months of dropping that mindset, he’s now allowing Seven to help save his life.

~*~

With your phone pressed to your ear, you kicked your shoes off next to the door and walked further into the apartment.

_“I could hire some bodyguards for you. They wouldn’t be able to escort you to or from the apartment, but we could find a way to make it work if that would make you feel safe.”_

“Thanks for the offer, but I don’t feel threatened. I’ll let you know if anything changes.” You fell back on the couch.

_“It’d likely be faster if you tell Assistant Kang, rather. I’ve been busy with meetings, she’s one of the only ones who can contact me.”_

You chuckled. “But you’re free enough to call me?”

 _“Yes.”_ His voice is stoic, as always, despite your lighthearted comment. _“Is it snowing in Korea?”_

“Barely. How close is spring, again?” You turned to lay on the sofa and rest your feet on the arm.

_“Should be about a month now. The weather is pretty harsh here in Osaka, but Elizabeth the 3rd seems to enjoy watching the snow.”_

“You brought her with you?”

_“Of course. It’s been a while since she’s travelled with me. Her beautiful fur looks magnificent when paired with the snow. I should hire a photographer…”_

“Speaking of… have you got any info on V?”

_“Nobody does. Apparently you didn’t hear.”_

“Hear what…?” Your heart dropped.

_“He is now not only a missing person, but presumed dead. They're still investigating, but minutely. The police force no longer has the manpower to keep up the search."_


	10. Chapter 10

Though the sun was clinging high in the sky, shining bright, the unmoving air in the street still caused goosebumps to cover your body. Many people filling the stalls wore sunglasses and you were beginning to regret neglecting to do the same; the snow that was resisting the rays of the sun reflected a bright light into your eyes. It seemed the snow still wanted to cause some discomfort before its inevitable melt. 

“What exactly are we doing here?” Saeran asked. This was the first time that you had invited him somewhere, and it was simply because you were bored and you knew he would be available. Plus, the game you had in mind was fun. You led him to an empty table away from the festival stalls, but still in view of the people around. He hesitantly sat down next to you, clearly caught off-guard at how cold the metal of the seat was. You laughed and ignored the dirty look he shot you.

“Have you ever gone people-watching?” Your eyes swept over the crowd.

“Really?” Both his voice and his face fell flat, almost to silently say “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“It’s more interesting than you’d think, there are games that you can play and it’s pretty funny sometimes.” The words rolled off of your tongue faster than you intended. Saeran’s expression remained apathetic. “Just try it?”

He tilted his head and raised a brow. “What kind of games can you play?”

“‘What’s Their Story.’ I’ve played it on the subway before by myself, but it’s _much_ better with someone else.”

“Explain.” He leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table while facing you, showing that you had his attention. You grinned in satisfaction and began speaking.

“So, one of us picks someone from the crowd, for example…” You began scanning, and ended up isolating a woman wearing a pantsuit, holding a stack of papers close to her chest in one hand and talking on the phone with an overjoyous smile. You pointed her out and made sure Saeran was following you, “...her. Let’s say you picked her out for me. I now have to explain her story. That woman’s name is Hana. She just got divorced from a deadbeat, and she’s talking to her sister who just announced that she’s pregnant. Little does she know, her sister is pregnant with Hana’s ex-husband’s baby.”

“That sounds like something straight out of a shitty soap opera.” An amused grin crept onto Saeran’s face. “Let’s do it.”

“Alright. It doesn’t have to be as dramatic, it can be straight up stupid, as well. The more off-the-wall, the better.” You once again began to look through the crowd to pick out someone for Saeran to describe. You landed on a woman sitting at a table by herself, drinking a daiquiri, with 3 empty glasses already in front of her. You also noted that she was wearing _way_ too much eyeliner. You pointed in her direction, “She’s downing her 4th drink and it’s only 4 in the afternoon. What’s her story?”

You saw Saeran’s mouth twist in thought for a moment before he spoke, “Simple. She’s trying to distract herself from her crushing student loans by cosplaying an alcoholic panda.”

The statement “alcoholic panda” caught you completely off guard and made you chortle. “Never thought I would hear those words strung together. That’s quite creative.”

“So I pick someone for you now?” He glanced to see you nodding your head, and then returned to scan the sparse crowd. You saw his face briefly light up before quickly pointing his finger in a man’s direction, “Who wears a top hat like that in public? Why is he wearing...” he paused to chuckle, “...a top hat? And is that a briefcase?”

“Well, you know how expensive the food is here? I mean, ₩17,000 for a single bowl of noodles?”

“Are you kidding?”

“That’s just one example. Anyway, he’s most likely delusional, but even he recognises that the prices are outrageous. He’s most likely carrying a baton or something in that briefcase, and he believes he has the power to lower the prices through magic. Someone should get him psychologically evaluated.”

“So is the top hat supposed to give him even more motivation or ‘power?’”

“He _really_ needs evaluation.”

~*~

 _“I haven’t had a rehearsal this good in weeks,”_ You couldn’t see his face, but you knew that Zen wore a large grin, _“How are you doing?”_

“I’m good! I hung out with Saeran for a few hours, I’m walking home right now.” You couldn’t help but smile just mentioning his name.

_“Ah, does someone have a crush?”_

“I don’t- no. He’s a really cool guy, though.” Zen’s teasing tone would have normally coaxed a retort from you, but you were too happy from the day you spent with Saeran, combined with the quiet streets and ambience nature had to offer. The sky was painted with fresh warm tones as the day faded to dusk and the clouds looked as fluffy and delicious as cotton candy; akin to a dream.

It was beautiful.

~*~

It was ominous. Too surreal, ethereal, uncanny. 

Saeran liked the _look_ of it, the sky was breathtakingly lovely and picturesque. If he didn’t know better, his love of sweet flavors would’ve encouraged him to reach out and grab a piece of the fluffy candy above his head.

What he _didn’t_ like was the feeling it gave off.

Something about this environment injected Saeran with a feeling of dread, and it caused his body to become rigid as he walked down the street in the direction of his apartment. After saying goodbye to you and parting ways, things seemed to go downhill within his mind. Maybe it wasn’t the natural environment, but the complete lack of other signs of life.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on edge when he heard shuffling footsteps behind him. The streets were far too empty and lifeless for such to be audible. Chills snaked down his spine and nearly froze him in place.

An alley loomed in the corner of his left eye, one that he passed everyday. It shouldn’t have sent him into as much panic as it did; not alone, at least.

“Thanks for making this easy.”


	11. Chapter 11

_“Did you hear what Believer K006 has done?”_

_“You mean about finding the mole and bringing him to Savior?”_

_Hushed voices from hooded heads around the corner caught Rika’s attention. The swish of her robes were enough to alert her believers of her presence, and she heard the breath catch in their throats as she made eye contact._

_“Forgive us, Savior, for standing in your way,” the believers raised their heads and pressed their backs to the wall._

_“No,” Rika began, “I heard you talking. I’ve actually been looking for him. I haven’t seen him since last night when we were in the basement with V.”_

_“Oh,” one raised his hand for a brief moment to get Rika’s attention, “I saw him leaving his room this morning. I asked him where he was going but he ignored me. He seemed pretty energetic.”_

_“Hmm…” Rika looked down at her feet, and her mind wandered to the worst case scenario. “Ask around and try to find him. He’s working on the mission with the RFA; we need him back here by hook or by crook.”_

* * *

Something suddenly grasped his right shoulder, making searing pain and gripping fear ripple through Saeran’s whole body. By the time he registered that it was a hand, it was already pushing him into the gaping alley. Saeran’s feet slid from under him and his head met the asphalt, causing his whole world to pirouette. Something sharp jabbed into his ribs and he shifted to move it. A large shoe collided with his thigh and further stunned him for a second.

“Why’d you do it? Huh?!” Saeran winced at the man’s booming voice in his ear. It took effort, but he was able to prop himself on his left elbow and lock eyes with his attacker, and only one thing stood out to him: eyes that matched his own. He was towering over Saeran and the cold eyes drilled into him.

_You…!_

“I’m innocent!” Saeran’s fingers curled into fists, and he quickly raised his foot and thrust it into the man’s lower stomach. He staggered backward giving just enough time and space for Saeran to leap to his feet again.

He only had a few seconds to think before the man would recover and charge at him. He couldn’t let him get close, and with one look over the man’s body and mannerisms, he knew he had no chances of running. A throb in this ribcage reminded him of the object he fell on. He snapped his head downward to look, but by the time he laid eyes on it, precious seconds had already been wasted. A sudden blow to his face caused the vision in his left eye to black out, and another hit to the mouth forced him to bite down on his lip. 

Unable to see clearly, he aimlessly kicked and banked on the chance that his toes hit the attacker’s calves, knees, ankles, anything to give him a chance to run. Luckily, he ended up hitting the left knee, and with a grunt and a groan, he stepped back and bent down to instinctively clutch the injury. Saeran used this time to snatch the rock, and, with waning consciousness, a throbbing eye that was without a doubt black and blue, and the sickening taste of iron soaking his mouth, he made the risky move of hurling the rock and praying that his coordination wasn’t knocked out of him with the hit of his head. Saeran saw the man’s hand dart into his pocket, but by the time his hand was clasped around something, the rock had already collided with his forehead.

_What luck._

While the man was disoriented, Saeran took this time to race forward; knocking him out would be ideal. He tried to grab Saeran’s leg once he got close, but his fist made firm contact with his temple, and the roles had been changed. With one sweep over his body, Saeran could tell that the one blow to the sensitive area had rendered the man unconscious. He sighed in relief and spat at him, just to add insult to injury (there was more blood than he thought…).

Saeran was about to run out of the alleyway when something gleaming in the street lights which were just waking caught his attention. He was reluctant to investigate as he had no clue when the man would wake up again, but ultimately leaned down and scanned the item.

A phone.

The sides were dented and scratched, and the broken screen looked like it would cut a finger if it was touched. However beat up it was, though, it would be a breaking point in finding and ruining the guy’s life. While Saeran had every opportunity to kill the man to get him to leave him alone, that would result in him becoming the man he was assumed to be. While he wouldn’t kill, he _would_ frame and blackmail, and this was his chance.

He picked up the phone and was about to stand when he spotted an unsheathed pocket knife resting in the man’s fist. He felt his heart palpitate and chills snaked from his spine down to his fingertips. He would take it either way, but the appearance of the handle also drew him in, with its mahogany and steel finish. He tried to shake the knowledge that this blade would have been the object to take his life as he took the knife and sheathed it again. After one final examination of the man’s belongings and discovering that there was nothing else worthwhile, Saeran let his feet take him as fast as possible to his home, after checking multiple times that he wasn’t being followed. 

~*~

His neighbors must hate him for how often he’s been racing into his apartment and slamming the door hard enough to rattle the doorframe and to nearly knock lazily hung decorations off of the wall. He didn’t stop for a single second before he ran into his computer chair and ended up rolling it a few feet with the force he crashed into it. He plugged the phone into his computer and took out his own to alert Seven about his findings and series of events.

**Unknown**

I got a phone.

A dude beat me up in an alley and I ran away with it.

**707**

Nice, you know what to do now?

**Unknown**

Yeah, I’m gonna transfer the data to my computer.

I’ll send you a copy of the data so we can both poke around.

I want to frame him for something if he’s not guilty of anything else.

**707**

That’s not legal, though.

I mean, neither is this;;

But why?

**Unknown**

I think it’s only fair since he tried to kill me.

He had a knife.

**707**

Shit, you okay?

**Unknown**

He didn’t cut or stab me, but he did land a couple nasty punches.

Fucker.

**707**

Alright, send the data as soon as you have it.

I’ll see what I can do.

_Ridiculous. What am I even doing?_

**707**

Also

No matter what

Do not leave your house.

You're not safe.

We don’t know how many people are on his side.

And he’s definitely gonna know that you took his phone.

**Unknown**

And the knife.

**707**

Why the knife?

What can that do for you?

**Unknown**

I thought it looked cool.

Let me live.

**707**

You said the guy hit you?

What happened to you?

**Unknown**

Black eye and busted lip.

Pretty sure it’s still bleeding.

Saeran touched his swollen mouth and felt a thin line of sticky blood trailing down his chin. He sighed in frustration.

**Unknown**

Yep, still bleeding.

**707**

You don’t need stitches, do you?

**Unknown**

Maybe, but I don’t really care.

Let’s just get to work.


	12. Chapter 12

_“This is unacceptable,” Rika tried to massage the growing headache from her temples as she muttered to herself, “He’s one of the most loyal followers I have; what led to this?”_

_~*~_

_He knew in the back of his mind that this was absurd, reckless, rushed, but Saeran was too drunk from the adrenaline burning his veins to even consider acting on the logical thoughts. The voice screaming in his head was only a distraction, meaningless noise keeping him from focusing on the sounds of the night around him. He was too excited to take her to the Mint Eye to stay cautious as advised by his savior._

_He only had one chance to do this now that he not only left Magenta without approval, but also hacked into the cameras and security system of the apartment, and there was no telling when that redhead would revert the changes and double the security. He needed to act fast._

* * *

**707**

You’re kidding.

You tell me to help you out with tracking this guy down, the guy who would have attempted to **murder** you

You send me the data from the phone that you recovered

And then you tell me to work on it myself??

I’m not going to do this on my own, you’re part of this as well.

**Unknown**

I know, I’m not going to leave it to you the entire time.

Just for a couple days at most.

I need to check something out on my own for now.

**707**

And what is this about? Why won’t you let me help with that?

**Unknown**

I need to make sure the person I was with that day is safe.

I need to protect her in case they saw me with her and they’re planning on hurting her.

**707**

You didn’t mention anyone before.

We’ll both have a hard time if we try to do each task by ourselves.

Why don’t you let me help you protect her, and then once that’s secured, you help me with this data?

**Unknown**

I…

This is something that I can handle on my own.

I want to guarantee her safety myself.

**707**

Is this your girlfriend or something?

**Unknown**

That’s not important.

Just let me do this and take care of her.

Saeran couldn’t risk his brother finding out who he was before he was mentally ready to face him. He already had a hard time simply texting him anonymously.

He ignored the noise coming from his phone as Seven persistently sent message after message, most likely in annoyance or curiosity. Instead of replying to or even reading the texts, he sighed and dialed your number hesitantly. 

He was so anxious while listening to each elongated tone that he almost didn’t hear your soft _“Hello?”_

“Hey, it’s me.” _She probably hasn’t saved my number._ “Saeran, I mean.”

 _“Oh, hi.”_ Your voice sounded groggy, as if you had just woken up. A quiet yawn confirmed the fact. _“What are you doing up this late?”_

Saeran glanced at his computer clock and cursed under his breath as he read 02:44. “I didn’t realise what time it was. I was just working.”

 _“What kind of job requires you to work in the middle of the night?”_ Your dry chuckle caught him off guard and caused him to let out a huff of his own.

“One that I don’t like, that’s for sure.”

 _“Can I ask why-”_ it sounded like you paused to let out another yawn, _“-you called me_ this _late?”_

“Just a test to see if you turn your phone off at night to get a good night’s rest. You failed and this is the consequence.” His attempt to draw another laugh out of you was successful, which painted a smirk on his face. “No, I’m not _that_ mean. I lost track of time while working. I meant to ask- uh, tell you something. Sorry for waking you.”

_“What do you want to tell me?”_

“Uh…” Saeran furrowed his eyebrows while thinking of a way to get his point across without revealing the situation. “...In case anything weird comes up, tell me. Not- not that I’m _expecting_ something to happen, but… just in case, you know?”

_“You’re scaring me…”_

“I’m not trying to. I’m just saying…” _There’s no way to dance around this._ “I’m caught up in something that I don’t want you to find yourself in. In case you feel like anyone is following you, or if you feel any security issues, anything like that- tell me. I can take care of it. Just… _please_ be careful.”

 _“Caught up in something?!”_ Your raised, alarmed voice made Saeran wince. _“What is this about? You’re not in danger, are you?”_

He felt a light fluttering sensation in his abdomen but quickly disregarded the feeling. “You don’t have to worry about me. Make yourself and your safety your first priority, and tell me if you notice anything. I can- I _will_ help if that happens. There’s no guarantee that anything _will_ happen, but I just want you to be safe.” _Why am I so scared for her?_ “Just please promise to tell me, okay?”

_“...Okay. In the future, I would like you to tell me this stuff during the day. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep now. And what is this even about?”_

“...I’ll tell you soon.” _Maybe._ “I’m really sorry for scaring you but I want you to stay safe.” Saeran couldn’t help but repeat his point simply due to his overwhelming concern. He wasn’t worried about himself, but you… You were a different story.

_“Is there anything I can help you with?”_

“I just told you,” he had to fight his growing irritation, “keep yourself safe and tell me _immediately_ if anything is wrong.”

 _“Alright.”_ Saeran heard you yawn again, _“You’ll have to tell me in the morning too, I’ll probably forget about this since you woke me up.”_

Even though he told you what to do, Saeran still couldn’t shake the feeling that something would occur and they would hurt you to control him. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

 _“I’m going to go back to sleep, please try to get to bed soon.”_ Upon hearing another soft, drowsy statement from you, an idea struck him. _“Good-”_

“Wait!” His sudden shout induced a nearly silent gasp from you, and before he could stop himself, he blurted, “You’ll be safer at my apartment. I’ll let you stay here.”

_(i really needed that break to sort myself out, thanks for letting me do that. i didn’t expect the hiatus to last so long though. it feels good to be back ^^)_


	13. Chapter 13

_“Shit!” Saeran loudly cursed upon hearing the distant sirens and scrambled to pull himself onto the roof of the tall building. He was suddenly well aware of how suspicious he looked: a black leather jacket, dark pants, even a neck gaiter that confirmed his wish to remain anonymous if seen. He hoped the moonless night would have shielded him from prying eyes, but the blinding flashing lights steadily growing closer proved otherwise. He anticipated—even prepared for—the situation where she would struggle, make a fuss, even fight back, but he didn’t think the police would be called prematurely._

_Saeran contemplated entering the building and hiding somewhere inside, but quickly disregarded the thought as the door on the roof surely wouldn’t stand unalarmed. He frantically began searching for the best place to descend the tall building and flee undetected. It would be hard, since he was bound to cross a major street, completely defeating the goal of escaping alone. Despite this, he swiftly and ungracefully climbed down the back of the building. He landed harshly on his ankle and hissed in pain, but began searching for a hiding place in the alleyway. If he couldn’t run, he could hide._

* * *

“It’s almost 3 in the morning.” You dragged your hand across your face and rubbed your eyes. “Are you sure?”

 _“You could wait until it’s light out if that makes you more comfortable,”_ Saeran’s words were rushed, hardly comprehensible, _“I’m just saying that it’s better to stay here where I can make sure you’re okay. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”_

“Why do you want to protect me so badly?” As you had no intention of refusing the offer, you decided to get dressed even though you were still half-asleep. You sat up in bed and swung your legs over the side.

_“...I can’t tell you that. Please.”_

“You’re like Seven,” you chuckled, “demanding without telling the reason.” You started rummaging through your closet to find an outfit that was decent enough to meet him in. You heard him lightly scoff.

_“I’ll go to pick you up and bring you here. Give me your address and I’ll go when you tell me to.”_

“I can’t reveal the address, it’s confidential. Stuff is weird in the RFA.” You put your phone on speaker and placed it on your bed to change clothes.

_“Give me a meeting point then. I don’t care where.”_

“You’re very insistent. You know the park near the store where we first talked to each other?”

_“Yeah, that’s not too far from here actually. Tell me when and I’ll drive there and pick you up.”_

“I’m actually getting dressed right now.”

_“Oh. Uh… I don’t know how long until this is going to be solved. I feel weird saying this but maybe you might want to pack a bag? Just for a few days at most.”_

_Whoa._ “Okay, I guess.”

_“Of course I have stuff here that you can use, but… yeah. You know what my car looks like, I’ll be there by the time you show up. Hurry.”_

~*~

You sighed and leaned back in the car seat with your bag settled between your feet. Your eyes were begging to close but you fought, at least for the time being. Saeran closed his door and started the ignition.

“Why are you doing this? I would have been fine,” you slurred.

“No,” he bit, “you wouldn’t have been. You don’t know what’s going on.”

“You’re actually starting to scare me more than this ‘threat.’ For all I know, you could be kidnapping me.”

“Look, I don’t know why I’m caring so much either,” Saeran turned the car roughly, “Maybe it’s because you’re the only person who’s been nice to me, or you’re the only person who isn’t using me, or maybe I’m just an overprotective, clingy bitch, but I wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly if I knew that there was somebody after you. There’s probably not, but better safe than sorry.” You glanced at him and reeled at his expression that you couldn’t quite piece together. Annoyance? Fear? He muttered under his breath, “I’ve never been like this.”

“What kind of shit have you been involved in that involves me?” Another sharp turn.

“None of this involves you.”

“Then why am I in danger?” You didn’t quite think about what you had said, but you saw his face contort and heard him draw a broken breath.

“Stop asking.”

 _Unbelievable._ You began to regret getting in the car.

~*~

“My room’s down the hall, second door on the left side. Go ahead and change and go to bed.” He led you inside and, after closing the door behind you, disappeared down the hallway. You took a few steps in and took in your surroundings. A small kitchenette to the left, a living area in front, and to the right, the same hallway Saeran had gone in. It was a small apartment and you almost felt a stab of pity at the situation. You entered his bedroom, but heard noise coming from another room that piqued your curiosity.

“Saeran?” You called.

“What?”

“Where’d you go?”

“Office. I need to work,” He swung a door open just enough to reveal his body, “just go to bed.”

“Where would you sleep?”

“If I ever do get to sleep, I’ll take the couch. Goodnight.” The last word was soaked in a painfully sour tone. He retreated and closed the door once again, leaving you alone in the hall. You ignored the flurrying thoughts crowding your head and entered his room once again.

It felt odd to sleep in a foreign bed on its own, but sleeping in _his_ bed felt a bit more awkward. You figured it might have been his scent riddled all over the blankets and pillows, though you didn’t find it necessarily unpleasant. It was cold enough for you to shiver so you ended up curling into a ball with the sheets, and you almost laughed at the situation. Saeran was being so bitter, almost mean, yet you were happily taking his bed and acting as if you’d slept there your whole life.

~*~

Morning came quickly, whether it was because you fell asleep rather quickly or you passed out around four, so the sun was already close. You scooted to the edge of the bed and stretched, letting out a small groan. You heard furious typing noises coming from the same room that Saeran locked himself in the night before, and the speed of the key pressing was astonishingly rapid. You heard your notifications sounding from your bag on the floor and fished your phone out, opening the messenger.

**Jumin Han**

He should have sent a notice at least a day beforehand.

How tiring.

**Jaehee Kang**

Should I set up a meeting between the two of you?

**Jumin Han**

Only if he doesn’t show up to this meeting.

And it’s not that he’s new to the company, either.

Oh, good morning.

**MC**

Morning.

Are you two okay?

**Jaehee Kang**

There’s an urgent meeting that must take place and one of the employees has given a notice that he won’t show up, but won’t specify his reasoning. 

In addition, it’s far too late to resign.

**Jumin Han**

There’s no point stressing about it further. 

What have you been up to?

**MC**

Things have been odd, to say the least.

I’m really not sure if I can talk about the reason,

but it looks like I’ll be staying at Saeran’s place for the time being.


	14. Chapter 14

_The revolting stench of the dumpster made Saeran gag, but he refused to leave his position beside it and risk exposing himself. He prayed that he was sheltered enough from outside light and invisible at first glance so that the police wouldn’t see him. This would only work if they didn’t have flashlights, and they most likely did, so this was only false hope._

_Was the steady muffled noise his pounding heartbeat roaring in his ears, or the stomps of the officers through the alleys, hunting him down?_

_He didn’t notice he was trembling until a large flash exposed his hiding place and he had to scramble to his feet. His own body was working against him, the anxiety shaking his limbs and the dull pain in his ankle hinderING his running speed. He forced himself to race on his injured ankle as fast as he could despite the pain._

_Before he could get too far, he stopped dead in his tracks as prongs dug into his skin and his muscles contracted against his will. The excruciating pain drew a loud cry from him and he fell to the ground, suddenly finding himself completely paralysed. Saeran couldn’t fight back against the officers viciously pinning him to the ground and entrapping his wrists in uncomfortably tight handcuffs._

* * *

Your stomach uncomfortably protested about the lack of food, and you didn’t even bother changing out of your pyjamas before you tread out of the door and entered the hallway. The rapid typing noises on the other side of another door showed no signs of slowing. Your gentle knock on the wood was the trigger of silence, though no vocalisation was produced.

“Are we going to have breakfast?” You were hesitant to speak, remembering his attitude and temperament from the hours before, but ultimately managed to ask.

You heard a sigh, what sounded like a chair creaking, and footsteps before the door swung open, revealing Saeran, wearing the same outfit, not a single indication that he slept. His gaze softened upon locking his eyes with yours and his face brightened.

“I know how to make waffles.” He flashed a lazy smile and led you to the kitchen. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I guess. I _did_ get woken up and taken from my house, though,” you joked.

“I’m surprised.” Saeran began shuffling through the cabinets while you sat at the table nearby. “It usually takes a bit to get comfortable in a new place, right?” You only hummed in response.

While he began putting various ingredients into a bowl on the island, your eyes were drawn to a contrasting color in his hair. Right at his roots sat a bright red color, identical to Seven’s. You’d supposed the pink tips were dyed, not his _whole_ head of hair. You opened your mouth to ask about it but he cut you off before you could say a word.

“You’re welcome to do anything here, just don’t go into my office. The work is confidential.” The way he danced his hands around the dishes and ingredients was almost mesmerising; not a fraction of hesitation or uncertainty in any movement. “I know it might be boring here, sorry. I just can’t have you leave.”

He looked up at you with an expression that you couldn’t quite piece together, which wasn’t uncommon for him. You tilted your head in slight confusion. “Why?”

“Were you not listening to me in the car on the way here?” Light irritation weaved in his now-furrowed brows sent a shiver down your spine. “There might be people after you.”

“I’ve not even done anything wrong, though.” Saeran took in a deep breath as he poured the batter into a waffle maker. Once he closed it, he turned back to you and put his hands flat on the island.

“I don’t like repeating myself, so I’ll say this once more, and only once,” His stern aqua eyes bore into you and you shifted in your seat, “I am not proud of what’s happening. I have been involved in some shady shit in the past, those people might as well have a bounty on my head. Since we were in public together, you could be targeted in order for them to manipulate me. It’s a cliché situation, ‘we have someone you like, do what we want or we hurt them.’ You shouldn’t be hurt because of what I’ve pulled.” An amalgamation of emotions, most notably _fear,_ stole the air from your lungs, and you had to remind yourself to breathe again.

“What have you done?” You stood up and tried not to raise your voice. A clear change of emotion was triggered, but you still didn’t have the luxury of reading him. He was still stable enough to continue making food, and placed the cooked waffle on a plate.

“I don’t want to argue with you. Sit down.” That same calm yet demanding tone; you couldn’t help but listen to his command. “Knowing what I’ve done won’t change the situation. I might tell you after this is taken care of, but don’t get mad about not knowing every detail for now.”

“If you’re innocent, why are you avoiding answering the question?” You couldn’t stop the words pouring out of your mouth once they were conjured in your mind. You regretted it once you saw his shoulders rise, his fists clench, and his face distort in visible anger. 

“If I wanted to hurt you, I would have by now!” Something about his loud speech caused your body to shrink. “I’m sick of people assuming that I’m the one in the wrong.”

He didn’t take his eyes off of you as he picked up the plate and took a few steps in your direction, shoving it into your hands. “Syrup is in the cabinet.” Though the volume decreased, his body language and tone were both still just as tense. He swiftly walked back down the hall.

“What about yours?” You called.

“I’m not hungry.” You heard a door slam and painful silence filled the room. He hadn’t even bothered to clean the dishes before retreating.

_“I’m sick of people assuming that I’m the one in the wrong.”_

As you slowly ate, the simple statement stuck to you uncomfortably like a bundle of grass burrs. A sorrowful pit grew in your stomach when you thought that he had most likely been antagonised before, and is probably trying to move past it. Your words were most likely salt in the wound, and the more you thought about it, the worse you felt.

The tension hung in the air although he was gone in another room. After finishing your food, you took the liberty of cleaning up the kitchen and putting things back where you saw Saeran take them. You began to head back to his bedroom to grab your phone which you left, and as you passed the room Saeran disappeared into, you thought for a brief moment about saying something. You quickly shoved the idea away and continued walking past.


	15. Chapter 15

_Not an ounce of mercy? The officers proved to not know the definition of “leniency,” and they hardly winced as he screamed at them countless times “I have rights!” He had been manhandled; tased, pinned, handcuffed, thrown into the backseat of the car, pulled inside the station, pat down, and now locked in an interrogation room with a mirror along the side that he knew was one-way._ Still _handcuffed. Acting as if he was a major criminal part of a gang because of his clothing, and they were determined to investigate that lead._

_“The faster you cooperate, the faster we can get to the bottom of this and move you along. Or are you staying silent because you know you trespassed? What were you even setting out to do?” The detective in front of him stared angrily into Saeran’s teal eyes, and he was returning the gaze with equal intensity. He had no intentions of talking at the risk of incriminating the Mint Eye, because there’s no doubt they would find out about his affiliation if he said a word._

_Unfortunately, there was direct evidence of his involvement painted right on his shoulder._

* * *

**707**

The hell was that?

You left without warning.

It doesn’t seem like you’re taking this too seriously.

**Unknown**

Well, sorry.

A man’s gotta eat.

**707**

Don’t go MIA like that.

**Unknown**

The more you complain, the longer this will take.

I’m here now, let’s just get this done.

**707**

Are you finally going to start working on digging up dirt about your attacker?

Or are you still caught up with protecting that girl?

**Unknown**

I made sure she’s safe, that part is taken care of.

What have you found while working on your own?

**707**

Found his name and ID.

Minho Song, 24.

I’m ready to report him, I was just waiting for your call.

**Unknown**

Don’t report him just yet.

**707**

???

This dude was going to murder you and you’re just letting him off the hook for now??

**Unknown**

Do you even remember what I said before?

I want to frame him.

Think about this.

There’s no evidence of assault, it’s my word against his. The weapon isn’t even there anymore because I took it.

I would be the one questioned, at the least accused of theft.

**707**

You want to dig a bit more and see what we can get?

**Unknown**

Yeah. You’d think I wouldn’t have to repeat myself OVER TEXT, but here we are.

**707**

Don’t get snappy. I’m helping you out here.

**Unknown**

I’m pissed right now. Let’s just get to work.

I have a copy of the data recovered from the phone.

I’ll look into his connections with other people, you look into who he is some more.

Luciel shook his head, and with a sigh, tucked his phone away into his pocket. His hands gravitated to his keyboard, his eyes fixated themselves on the screen, and he began hacking. In the back of his mind, his thoughts wandered. He gets nothing from this other than the thin chance that Unknown would be willing to meet up, and that wasn’t even guaranteed to happen. Nonetheless, he still worked without much more of a fuss.

~*~

Luciel’s phone buzzing in his pocket would not cease, and once he turned on the screen, he realised that the chatroom was lively with three other members: you, Yoosung, and Zen.

_What’s been going on while I was gone?_

_707 has entered the chatroom._

**Yoosung★**

Seven! Hihi!

**ZEN**

Did you get lunch?

**707**

Only my trusted honey buddha chips~

**ZEN**

That’s just like you;;

**MC**

Hi Seven!

**707**

Hey hey hey!! lololol

You guys ate as well, right?

**Yoosung★**

Not yet T_T 

**MC**

I would, but idk if Saeran would let me cook.

**ZEN**

Why are you even staying there?!

Get out before he does something to you!

Luciel’s eyes shot wide open and he suddenly found it hard to refrain from hyperventilating. 

**MC**

Relax;;

I trust him.

**707**

...What do you mean “staying there”?

Are you with him right now??

**MC**

You haven’t read the past messages?

I don’t even know the full story but he wants me to stay with him for a few days, I think.

**707**

Is it okay if I call you right now?

**MC**

I guess.

You act really weird when he’s mentioned.

**707**

Just wait for my call.

_707 has left the chatroom._

His thumbs moved erratically in an attempt to rapidly call you. Once he finally did through his sporadic movements, he brought his phone close to his face hard enough to inflict a mild sting on his cheek. Each elongated tone felt like an hour, and he let out a massive sigh when you picked up.

_“Hey. Are you okay?”_

“No,” Luciel confessed, “not really. Can you tell me _why_ you’re staying with him?”

_“Like I said in the chatroom, I don’t know. He called me in the middle of the night and said that he’d feel better if I stay with him. Apparently there’s stuff going on that I might have gotten caught up in. He won’t tell me what, though.”_

“...Can I talk to him?”

_“I’m not sure. He’s locked himself in his office since he yelled at me this morning; I think I might have touched on something he doesn’t want to get into.”_

_Dammit,_ Luciel gripped his jacket in a tight fist as he thought, _I shouldn’t even be in contact with him; if the agency finds out…_ “Is he doing okay?”

_“I guess? I can’t tell what’s going on right now, I’m pretty worried about him. He was pretty happy before, as far as I could tell. He’s talked about you a few times.”_

Luciel’s heart dropped. “What has he said?”

_“He had connections with V and he knows you through him. He’s apparently been to a couple RFA parties, too.”_

“Are you serious…?” _Did I miss him?_

 _“That’s what he said before.”_ Silence sat between you and Luciel for a brief moment. _“Wait…”_

“What?”

_“Why did he…? A few weeks ago he said he had a girlfriend? I’m not sure…”_

“Just… tell me that I want to talk to him next time you can. Or, you have his number, right?”

_“Yeah, but I… Nevermind. I’m gonna go see if I can talk to him now.”_

“Okay…” Luciel looked down in defeat. Before he could say anything else, the harsh sound indicating the end of the call hurt his ear, and he sighed before getting back to work with Unknown’s situation.


	16. Chapter 16

_The hours while in holding were spent hating himself and being evaluated by several different strange people who were asking him invasive questions and prodding despite his visible discomfort, and thoroughly dissecting every word he had to say. He could scoff. Like they had any ability to “diagnose” him and his apparent mental condition._

_They’d found his tattoo within the first couple hours of questioning, and he refused to say a single word about its meaning. He had optimism that they were going to be safe despite his admittedly idiotic actions. Best case scenario, he would get whisked back to Magenta and cleansed for weeks. Worst case scenario…_

* * *

**Unknown**

You fucking hypocrite.

You get mad at me for disappearing without a word.

But what the hell did YOU just do??

**707**

There’s a situation on my side that doesn’t involve you.

My friend is just involved with someone I want to find and she’s not being helpful.

Despite how mad he was at Seven’s cant, Saeran couldn’t hold back the laughter at how oblivious his brother was.

**Unknown**

You’re kidding.

I was eating, you were talking to your friend.

You don’t have a right to nag me in the future.

**707**

Fine, fine.

“Saeran?” He heard you speaking outside the door in a slightly resigned voice. He clenched his teeth and pressed his lips together in a firm line, leaning back in his chair. He didn’t hear you walk away after a moment of silence, so he eventually huffed in annoyance.

“Can I help you?” he bit without looking toward the door.

“...I don’t want to fight with you.”

“Funny, I said that earlier but you decided to fight anyway.” Saeran crossed his arms.

“Look,” you sighed, “I know what I said, I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”

Saeran silently chuckled at the formulaic argument, isolation, and pathetic apology. It’s usually over something more trivial, though. He always had a problem with forgiveness to start with, and the volume of the statement… 

“How do I know you’re remorseful?” 

“What do you want me to do?”

“I’ve said it multiple times.” He spun his chair to face the door. “Bear with me and don’t pry into the issue. I only want to keep you safe.”

The silence that followed shot Saeran with a sense of uneasiness. He saw your unmoving shadow under the door and ultimately decided to approach you. He only had to take a few steps after leaving his chair, and once he stood in front of it, he let his hand linger on the cold handle as he debated facing you.

 _No point hating her,_ he thought to himself as he swiftly opened the door. He wasn’t met with your face in front of his; in fact, he couldn’t see _any_ part of you. Instead, he heard a gasp below him, then a soft grunt.

“What…?” He looked down and saw you, now lying on the floor. You looked up at him with dejection sketching your face.

“You didn’t tell me you were opening the door,” you complained while pushing yourself off of the ground. Saeran had to keep himself from smiling and giving away his profound amusement.

“You didn’t answer me.”

“What was there to say?” You straightened your back and stared at him, speaking in a defeated tone. He could see the clear resignation behind your eyes, and it stabbed his heart with pity. “You want to keep me safe. What can I respond with?”

“Maybe a ‘thank you’?” Saeran rolled his eyes but kept his voice fairly gentle. You shook your head with a soft smile.

“Thank you.” He smirked at your meek statement. You looked down at the floor, and, hardly audible, said, “I really don’t want to fight with you.”

“Like I said,” Saeran shoved his hands into his pockets and shifted his weight to the side, “I don’t want to, either. If I wanted to hurt you, I would have by now, but I don’t. I want you to be safe, and this is the best way I can think of. I just need to take care of this alone for now; I’ll tell you eventually.”

You lifted your head and met Saeran’s gaze. “You’re very… protective.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Not inherently.” You cocked your head with an entertained gleam in your eyes. A strange, warm sensation swelled in his chest when you smiled, and he found it hard to ignore. “It feels good that you care, honestly.”

Saeran let out a scoff and shut his office door behind him before silently leading you back out to the common area.

“Oh, right,” you caught his attention just as he fell back onto the couch. He cocked an eyebrow.

“Hm?”

“Is your girlfriend okay with me staying here?”

 _Girlfriend…?_ Saeran furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Her existence is news to me. Where did you hear that?”

“You said it yourself!” You sat next to him and seemed to study his baffled facial expression.

“When?”

“When we were at the mall a while ago, you left saying your girlfriend would get mad at you if you didn’t come home.”

 _Oh…_ “Uh…”

“Did you two break up?” Your words were spiked with a fine tone, one that Saeran couldn’t understand.

 _Might as well just say it._ “She never existed. It was an excuse to get away.”

“What…?” Upon hearing your distressed voice, he snapped his head up and met your equally distraught face.

“Not like that! I enjoyed spending time with you, I just… needed to get home. It was important and I didn’t feel comfortable saying why.”

“You didn’t have to lie to me like that,” you sighed.

“Sorry.”

“You’d better be.” You looked away from him and pulled your phone out of your pocket. 

The new silence allowed Saeran’s mind to wander, but he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of you. He found himself absentmindedly studying your features: the color of your eyes along with the subtle details hidden in the iris, the short, thin wisps of hair gracing your hairline, the shape of your cupid’s bow defining your lips… 

_Oh no._


	17. Chapter 17

_Of course the police were able to find them. Just fucking fantastic._

_The panic welling in Saeran’s chest became too much to bear and all he could do to express his emotions was to yell and bang his fists on the wall, and he had already done so to the point that his throat stung and both of his hands may as well have been dipped in dark blue paint due to the extent of bruising. What was even more agonising was the glint of the camera in the top corner that someone was undoubtedly watching him through, watching him degrade and severely bruise himself. It was humiliating. The existence of the camera was taunting him, so he resorted to throwing his shoes in an attempt to break it. All to try to deal with the horrifying knowledge that they found them._

_Hours passed and he was visited by another “professional,” who seemed rather on-guard. The questions this time were different and Saeran knew_ _that his actions in the holding cell provoked this. He overheard several people talking and debating criminal responsibility. With each passing minute of uncertainty of the fates of his fellow believers, and even his Savior, he only wanted to escape even more._

* * *

**707**

Unknown.

I found something.

Saeran was nearly falling asleep at his desk until the sudden notification lit up his phone screen and snapped him out of his fatigued daze.

**Unknown**

What is it??

**707**

He’s in regular contact with several convicted criminals, which alone could just be taken that he’s caught up in the wrong crowd,

But get this:

I was able to dig up evidence that he’s one of the organisers of a huge drug trafficking and money laundering ring.

This is exactly what you wanted, right?

Evidence that we can expose.

**Unknown**

This is perfect.

Now

Do we have any idea how we get this to the police without exposing the dirty work we’ve done to get to this point?

**707**

We send an anonymous tip and tell them to look into who this guy is, and what they’re looking to find.

Want me to do it?

**Unknown**

Yes.

You’ve done me a huge favor.

Thanks…

Saeran thought for a moment, debating sending the single word he had typed out, but ultimately decided to delete it and shut off his phone. He leaned back in his chair and looked at the setting sun leaking through the thin cracks in his blinds. A smile crept its way onto his face as he relished in the fact that his freedom was inches away.

_There’s no reason for her to stay here anymore…_

The smile faded away.

~*~

“Sometimes I wonder what other people think about me.” Your voice speaking over the quiet background noise of the TV startled Saeran. Despite the few days you’d been staying at his, he still wasn’t quite used to you frequently shattering the silence with comments such as these.

“Why?” He turned his head to the left to face you on the other end of the sofa. You shrugged.

“I don’t know. Have you never thought of it?”

“Knowing what other people think about me would make socialising boring. You need some sort of… curiosity? Is that the right word? I’m not sure. Surprise?” He tilted his head and let it rest on the back of the couch.

“Maybe. I just think it’d ease some anxiety or uncertainty, you know, ‘what if this person is faking their kindness?’ At least then you would know for sure.”

Saeran chuckled softly and stared at the ceiling. _If you could read_ my _mind, could you tell me what this feeling is?_

~*~

When you woke up in the pitch black room, the blanket cocoon you were wrapped in to combat the cold proved to be a bit warmer than needed. _Strange,_ you thought. It was the fourth night you slept in Saeran’s room, and this was the only night you had a problem with the nest you made. You found yourself more comfortable once you broke free from the mass of sheets and settled yourself under one blanket, and you drifted back to sleep.

~*~

“Good morning,” his simultaneously flat and friendly voice filled the room. You looked up from the ground with your tired eyes and at Saeran, who was obviously wide awake, relaxing on the settee on his phone. You rubbed your face, continued walking toward him, and settled against the opposite arm of the couch, letting out a yawn.

“Did you sleep well? You look like you’re out of it,” he commented with a chuckle, the charming sound of which spread a smile on your face.

“It was warm in the middle of the night. I woke up right in the middle of a good dream.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you up.” Saeran placed his elbow on his knee and leaned down to rub the back of his neck with the same hand. You looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Ah, I saw that you were bundled up so I turned up the temperature for the whole apartment. I promise I wasn’t watching you in your sleep, though.” His words that sped up over time and his flushing face were proof that he was embarrassed about the nice deed.

“Thank you.” You curled your legs up to your chest and pressed your side to the back of the couch, now facing your body toward Saeran. It was then that you realised both of his shoulders were exposed as he wore a tank top. Faint markings on his right shoulder caught your eye, but you couldn’t see very well since you were seated on the other side of him. You felt your eyelids slowly falling down once again.

“Are you sure you don’t need to go back to bed? You’re welcome to.” His worry caused your heart to beat a little faster for a brief moment.

“I’m okay. Thank you, though. I just need some time to wake up.” 

~*~

 _Is it simply because she’s been nice to me? I’ve never felt this way before but I’ve never had a_ chance _to. There was nobody around-_

“Saeran?” Your drowsy voice sounded miles away. He blinked a few times and met your gaze with difficulty.

“Yeah?” _God…_

“Are you okay? Or do you usually space out like that?” Your soft giggle brought any positive emotion in the moment to surface. He felt lighter to hear your voice.

“In all honesty, I’m not sure.” His half-assed attempt to draw another laugh from you was successful and he felt a sense of pride. _Oh, right…_ “So, you remember the reason why I brought you here, right?” His eyes wandered to the floor.

“And why you’ve been keeping me here like a pet? Yeah, I remember.” Your monotone words contrasted your lighthearted facial expression. Saeran felt a pang of guilt; it wouldn’t be said unless there was at least a fraction of truth behind the words.

“Don’t put it like that. That’s not what I want you to think. I want-”

“-to keep me safe. I _know._ I _know,_ Saeran. You don’t have to keep telling me.” The radiating annoyance, though not strong, hurt him. The thought of making you hate him was like a knife to the chest.

“You don’t have to listen to me say it anymore. It’s over. Solved. You can go back home if you want.” He didn’t want to lash out, and he found it hard to keep his voice down.

“That’s good. But what do you mean ‘if I want’?”

“I don’t hate having you here, you know.” Saeran let the words roll off his tongue. He felt vulnerable uttering the simple sentence, but he strangely didn’t find it as humiliating as he thought. He forced himself to look into your eyes through the pink and white locks of hair haphazardly covering his face.

“And I don’t hate being here.” Was that pink hue resting on your cheeks only in Saeran’s imagination?

“I’m surprised you’re not asking what’s done. Now that we’re _mostly_ safe, I’d be open to talking about _some_ of the story.”

“I didn’t know I was allowed to ask,” you laughed and crossed your legs, still facing him on the sofa. “So, share. What happened?”

Saeran felt that he was walking on eggshells; he had to think carefully about every detail and decide whether it was safe to tell. He can’t say outright “I’m an ex-cultist.” but there’s no graceful way to dance around the fact. It felt like hours that he was sitting in front of you selectively explaining the details, when in reality, it only took a couple minutes.

“So, you were responsible for the fall of some cult and one person was pissed about that and came after you?” You seemed to be trying to wrap your head around the situation that already seemed rather significant. _You don’t know the half of it._

“Yeah, pretty much.” Saeran studied a couple of your facial features: the corners of your mouth which were barely curled toward your chin and your brows pushed down, covering part of your eyes. 

“Why did you even know this cult existed? And what were you doing about this guy?” You finally looked up and into Saeran’s eyes, and the same strange feeling from before shot through his abdomen, causing him to shift in place. Trying to hide his nervousness, he put on a smirk made of feigned confidence.

“My dear, you and I are not close enough for you to know any of that.”

Saeran could have had a heart attack with the way you leaned forward and planted your hands into the cushions for support. “Then how about we _get_ close enough?”


	18. Chapter 18

_Getting out of bed the following weeks was a chore, but he had to in order to follow the schedule. He hardly slept, but felt exhausted. He felt nothing, but was constantly overstimulated. His mind was clouded only with guilt, sorrow, resentment, loneliness, so much so that he couldn’t produce any coherent thought. He was a prisoner in this hospital psych ward, and even if he did get out in the future, he had no place to go._

_The guilt of the fall shook his whole world. The world turned blurry and incomprehensible. He merely felt like a shell of a person; it seemed that the only thing telling the world he was human was his body. On top of the depression eating away at his mind like the parasite it was, he had to cope with the physical discomfort from the drugs they were pumping into his bloodstream to “treat” him._

_The medication couldn’t take away the weight of what he had caused with his reckless behavior: the fall of the Mint Eye. The police tracked down the location based on the logo on his shoulder, closed in, and, in a panic, a believer accidentally detonated the bomb Saeran himself had planted, ironically for their safety. Reportedly, only a fraction of the people in the building were able to escape, and the few survivors were all injured in some way. What was meant to protect them was the cause of their deaths._

_Among the list of survivors, his Savior was not one of them, and neither was that ex-lover of hers that he went through the trouble of tracking down; all for nothing._

* * *

“You’ve been talking about her a lot lately. I take it you’ve made a friend?” The therapist sat with one leg crossed over the other and her hands holding her knee, as always. She looked at Saeran with a friendly stare, but he found it hard to raise his eyes from the floor. 

“I guess. But is that really what’s important right now?” The silence between sentences nearly hurt his ears.

“We can come back to that if you’d like. I just remember you saying at the beginning of your treatment that one of your goals was to make at least one friend.”

“I don’t really remember.”

“Let’s focus on Saeyoung again.” He cringed at the mention of his brother’s name. “Do you think you could ask her for his phone number, or set up a meeting with him?”

“I already have his number. I’ve…” Saeran paused, trying to think of a way to explain his contact with his brother without exposing the situation that he was just beginning to wrap up. “I’ve been talking to him, actually…” The anxiety building caused him to fidget in his seat. Lying to his therapist was disgusting anathema.

“Oh! How has that been for you?”

“Easier than I thought,” _because he doesn’t know it’s me,_ “I think he talked about meeting up somewhere before.”

“You’re uncomfortable about it, aren’t you?” Her words hit him like a train. He snapped his head up to stare at her, and he found it irritating—as always—that he couldn’t tell what was going through her mind.

“How can you tell?”

“Your body language. You tend to pick at your nails when we’re talking about something you don’t like.”

He furrowed his eyebrows and stared down at his hands, studying his reddened fingertips and slightly jagged nails. “I do?”

“It’s most likely an unconscious attempt at soothing yourself. What is it that you don’t like about meeting Saeyoung?”

Saeran took a deep breath and racked his brain for an excuse. It’d be undeniably awkward for him to admit that he’s Unknown, the one who attacked the messenger server a year ago and mysteriously reappeared.

“Would it be better to have that girl with you?”

~*~

The only light in the room stemmed from the moon sending sharp rays through your window. Your back was pressed to the soft mattress of your bed and you stared at the ceiling, almost every limb splayed out carelessly, save for your right arm, which held the cold phone to your cheek.

 _“What keeps you up at night?”_ Saeran’s pleasant voice played through the speaker. During the day it was energetic, lively, and quick, but in the dead of night, everything changes, and his voice is no exception. He knits a more quiet and smooth tone in his words. Had it not been embarrassing, you could have asked for a lullaby.

“For one, you calling me like this,” you chuckled and heard him do the same on the other end of the line.

_“In my defense, this is only the second time. And the first time was necessary.”_

“Yeah, yeah.” You rolled your eyes with a wide smile. “What keeps me up…?”

_“For me, it’s racing thoughts and flashbacks to… things I’d like to forget.”_

“That must be awful.”

 _“I don’t need pity,”_ you could picture him shaking his head and avoiding eye contact, _“and that reminds me, I want to tell you something. Only if you answer my question, though.”_

You felt your stomach flip for no discernable reason. “I don’t think it’s anything really special. Probably just if the temperature in the room is wrong or I can’t find a comfortable position.”

 _“That’s a boring answer,”_ he laughed lightly, _“but I suppose I got what I asked for.”_

A moment of silence passed. “What did you want to tell me?”

_“Right. Is it because I’m sentimental? Don’t bash me. It’s nighttime. You’re free to just… forget this conversation happened in the first place. I just have all these thoughts that won't go away.”_

“ _…_ Let me hear it.”

He sighed, _“You met me at a very strange time in my life. I’ve got shit going on that I don’t want to push onto you, so I won’t go into detail… there’s part of me you’ll probably never know. Those flashbacks, like you said, are awful. Hell. Sometimes it just makes me want to put a bullet in my head with how unrelenting they can be.”_

Your chest tightened and a wave of worry crashed down on you. In this moment, you could lose control and throw your arms around him in an attempt at a comforting hug.

_“…You’re weird, though. I think about you and it gets easier. I’ve been able to sleep better. I want to know more about you, your likes, dislikes, past, wishes… You’re the only person who’s been nice to me just for the sake of it, and not because you’re being paid or you want to use me. At least, I hope so.”_

“Of course. You seem like a nice person. You’ve cared about me, so it’s only natural, I guess.”

_“…It’s comments like that that make me feel weird. I’ve never had a friend before. I mean, other than my brother…”_

“You have a brother?”

_“I don’t really want to go into detail. Not right now.”_

“I can understand that.”

_“Nighttime really fucks you up, huh? Emotions aren’t really for me, I try to stay indifferent most of the time, but here I am, pouring my thoughts onto you…”_

“That’s okay. I’m the same way sometimes. I like hearing you talk like this.”

 _“Stop. I’m feeling weird again.”_ You smiled at his inflection and closed your eyes. _“Oh, right. I called for a reason. Why’d you go and distract me?”_

“You’re the one who’s been talking and leading the conversation.”

 _“Blah.”_ You both laughed softly. _“You’re friends with 707, right?”_

“Seven? Yeah, why?”

_“Tomorrow, I’m going to arrange to meet him. I don’t want it to be awkward, though. Would you be okay with… standing by me? Things will be easier with you there.”_

_(shameless a/n but my birthday is on the 19th so thats pretty cool. love you guys)_


	19. Chapter 19

_“I have nothing to live for. Why are you trying to convince me that I do?” Saeran bit at the calm woman sitting in front of him. She seemed unfazed, which only angered him more._

_“Everyone deserves a chance at life; unfortunately, you’ve had years of yours stolen from you.” Her pitiful smile felt fake, mocking, almost plastic._

_“I have no family that would accept me. I never went to a proper school. I never learned proper social skills. I can’t get a job. It’s too late for me.”_

_“Saeran,” she shifted in the chair she was seated in and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, “it’s not ‘too late’ for you. Recovery is possible and I’m here to help you.”_

_“Go to hell.”_

* * *

**Unknown**

707.

Saeran stared down at his phone on the desk with anticipation and fear. He wasn’t ready; doubts and terror flooded his mind as he waited for his brother to read the message and respond. He’d have backed out had he not promised to you that he was following through, which was the exact reason he did. 

**707**

Yes?

Saeran took a deep breath before slowly typing out his response.

**Unknown**

You said that you wanted to meet me?

Boramae Park, south gate.

**707**

Today??

**Unknown**

Yes.

You can show up, right?

**707**

I should be able to.

When?

**Unknown**

I don’t know how far you are, so it doesn’t really matter.

I'm leaving my apartment right now, though.

I’ll be waiting.

~*~

“It’s getting warmer out, isn’t it? Spring is coming.” Your happy voice to his left briefly relaxed his tense muscles, but as soon as you stopped talking, he was back to his rigid state. While sitting backwards at the picnic table, he was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, gnawing on the fingernails of one hand. The only tell that he wasn’t a statue was the constant rapid bouncing of his leg. As much as he tried to focus on the scenery or his breathing to calm down, he couldn’t shake the stress. What if a sliver of his soul still held a grip on the resentment, and the anger and violent tendencies would take over? The question refused to leave.

“I don’t know why you’re so nervous, but… I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you.” While Saeran appreciated your effort to calm him, he didn’t believe your words for a second. A gentle breeze caused the branches in the nearby trees to sway and the soft sound of the branches colliding was emitted. 

“Saeran…?” Besides turning his head to face you his stance didn’t change. The gentle smile you offered in reassurance made his chest tighten, but not unbearably, unlike the rest of his body. The way you slowly swayed into his side and pushed him lightly withdrew a laugh, surprising the both of you, and he dropped his head to look at the dirt beneath his feet.

He inhaled deeply and took his hand away from his face. “I haven’t seen him in years.”

“Can I ask why?”

He thought about revealing the reason, but ultimately said, “You’ll find out.”

A few minutes of near silence passed and Saeran started getting nervous again, but every time he became visibly tense, you immediately calmed him, either by bumping his shoulder with yours or speaking a statement or two.

After what felt like an hour, your name was called from the distance and a pit grew in Saeran’s stomach. He let his head hang completely to hide his face. He wasn’t recognised, and for that he was grateful.

“What are you doing here?” Saeyoung’s voice grew louder as he got closer, and within seconds Saeran could see his shoes on the ground in front of him. He prayed that you would say his name, because there was almost no way he could lift his head without prompt.

“Didn’t he tell you?”

Saeyoung’s feet shifted to face him. “Who…?”

_No choice now._

He swallowed dryly and, with a clenched jaw, firm shoulders, and trembling hands, looked up to meet a pair of golden eyes, ones that he once had before his life took a turn. He expected his brother to wear a puzzled look on his face for at least a moment as he tried to recognise him, but to his surprise, there was no hesitation. His eyes shot wide, his jaw dropped slightly, and he almost appeared to take a step back.

“Saeran?”

Rather than speaking, he shakily stood up. The anxiety took hold of him, and he felt himself begin to fall, but a strong pair of arms instantly embraced him and kept him up. His chin rested on his twin’s shoulder, which was heaving as he began to weep.

“It’s you…!” Saeyoung’s voice was muffled in Saeran’s shirt, and he felt fists grasp the fabric on his back as if he would disappear if not.

_He cares._

The train-like force of childhood feelings and memories hit Saeran hard enough to rob the air from his lungs. Burning tears pricked his eyes and within a second, his arms were around his brother to return the tight hold. He pressed his forehead against Saeyoung’s shoulder and let himself cry as every fraction of worry that he’d return to the mindset he was stuck in for years before, that he’d be overcome with the urge to hurt Saeyoung, fizzled away completely. All he knew in the moment was one emotion: love for his twin.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Saeyoung began profusely apologizing, hardly audible behind his choking sobs. “I’m not leaving. I won’t leave you again. Never again.” It was a shock that either of them could still breathe against the firm hug.

Although Saeran couldn’t find words, he hoped that his refusal to be the first to draw back would speak volumes. It instantly became clear to him that despite his doubts, denials, and vehement claims and thoughts otherwise, the bond between them was still there; it just needed to be dusted off.


	20. Chapter 20

_“It’s going to be hard to move forward if you don’t know what you want to accomplish. Why don’t we come up with a list of goals?”_

_“And what’s the point of that? I already told you: I don’t have a chance. You might as well lock me up in here for the rest of my life, that’d be better.”_

_“You’ve only been in therapy for two weeks. It won’t be instantaneous, but you can get your life back. Now, why don’t you list off what you’ve always wanted to do?”_

_“Get my revenge on my brother for abandoning me.”_

_“...We’ll come back to that. What else?”_

_“Get out of this place.”_

_“You could get a job and make enough money to afford your own home.”_

_He stared at the floor._

_“What else?”_

_“Nothing.”_

_“Why don’t we talk about your brother?”_

* * *

He felt like a child again, minus the malnutrition, illness, and weakness he had been plagued with. He was still clearly weaker than Saeyoung, but less so. Saeran found the strength to take in a stuttering breath and murmur three words that he’d never thought he’d say.

“I missed you.” His breath felt hot against Saeyoung’s shoulder. He thought that his voice was so low and quiet that he wouldn’t have heard him, but the stronger squeeze and extra sob that came from his brother proved otherwise. 

It could have been seconds, minutes, or even _hours_ before the two finally let go of each other. Saeran fell back onto the seat of the picnic table and rubbed the tears away from his eyes with the heels of his palms.

“What happened to you?” Saeyoung immediately took the seat to his right.

“What do you mean?” Saeran ran a hand through his hair and stared at his brother. He noted his patchy red, puffy, tear-stained face, and knew for a fact that he looked the same.

“Your eyes and hair… Did you just want a different look, or what?” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as well.

To his left, Saeran felt your weight leave the bench, and he raised his head to look at you. An expression of strong confusion was glued to your face, but once you sat down in the grass in front of them, it morphed into one of shock and realisation.

“You…?”

“...We’re twins.” Saeran felt another tear slide down his cheek.

“That’s…! I _knew_ I’d seen your face before!” You playfully slapped his knee, “I thought I was going crazy!”

“Honestly I’m surprised you hadn’t noticed earlier.” Saeyoung pitched in with a dry chuckle.

“It’s not my fault! Saeran’s the one with completely different colors.”

“There is a reason for that but I’m not getting into—”

“I’m just glad you’re here.” Saeyoung interrupted.

“I was talking,” he turned to his brother, “you sloth.”

The faint giggle he heard from you gave him the same weird feeling as when he was on the phone with you the night before. “You were saying you’re not getting into…?” you said.

“The _reason_ I look like this is a long story… I want to grow my hair out and get the red color back, but I imagine that’ll take a while. My roots are hardly coming in and I haven’t bleached it in two months. My eyes though… The doctors said there’s a slim chance they’ll ever go back to their original color.” He found himself rambling a little longer than intended, but he found it easy. He was comfortable, whether it was because he was with you, his twin, or both, he couldn’t tell.

“You have to tell me later, okay? I want to know… what happened while you were with Rika and V.” Saeran visibly cringed at his brother’s words, to the latter’s concern. “Wait. Do you know something?”

Saeran dodged eye contact and pressed his lips together while internally debating exposing the truth. It was more a case of _how_ —does he outright state that they were dead, or does he start from the beginning?

He eventually decided to be blunt: “They’re dead.”

The appalled visage on Saeyoung’s face was no surprise, and he caught a glimpse of you, looking more worried than alarmed. It was you who spoke, “Why didn’t you say so before?”

“There’s a lot of stuff that I don’t feel comfortable saying right now. One story leads to another, and another, we’d be here all day and I just want to… spend this time with you both. Is that okay?”

~*~

Saeran hadn’t revealed that he was Unknown, nor did Saeyoung mention that he was there to meet the person. It appeared that the afternoon was spent laughing and crying together, and the sun was now retreating for the night. Saeyoung was reluctant to leave, afraid that he would lose his brother again, but when Saeran was hesitant to reveal his contact information, you promised to keep in contact with the both of them, acting as a bridge for the time being.

“Why did you ask me to come with you?” You asked a few minutes after Saeyoung left. You got off of the ground and sat to his right on the bench.

“I was brainwashed for years and led to believe that he abandoned me because I was a burden,” Saeran admitted. He found it odd that he was so comfortable talking to you, over the one whom he shared a womb. “I’ve been getting better but I was worried that my progress would be for nothing; I thought that if you were here, it would keep me calm.”

A smile spread on your face before the first half of his statement sunk in. “Brainwashed?”

“It’s going to turn into another instance of ‘I just want to keep you safe.’ You’re going to hear the same thing again and again, I’m not entirely ready to reveal the full story.”

“I understand. I don't expect you to force yourself to tell me anything.” You grinned once again. The combination of your sweet smile and your kind words sent another wave of emotion over Saeran. He’d never had a friend, so maybe this was what it was like? 

_This seems like something more, though…_

He closed his eyes and sighed before looking at you.

“Can I try something?”

_(my cat keeps yelling at me and walking on my keyboard while i’m trying to write so since the little shit wants attention, shoutout to spaz)_


	21. Chapter 21

“Can I try something?” Saeran asked bluntly. He wasn’t completely oblivious to human relationships; he knew enough to recognise that he definitely felt  _ something  _ toward you. He only had to confirm his suspicions.

“What is it?” You cocked your head to the side while staring into his cool turquoise eyes. 

His stomach flipped and he felt just as tense as he was before when they were waiting for his brother to show, if not more. He felt himself begin to tremble and he cursed internally at his intense hesitation. 

“Are you okay?” Your soft words snapped him out of his nervous daze. While he could, he decided to move.

He breathed in deeply as he cupped your cheek with his palm and let his other hand rest on your shoulder. Had he not been so anxious, he could have laughed at how flustered you appeared to become with your wide eyes and flushed face. Saeran quickly leaned forward and delicately placed his lips on yours.

~*~

Time stood still and the fluttering in your body refused to calm. Every miniscule movement Saeran made could be easily detected. The burning yet soothing heat stemming from his gentle kiss was gone all too quickly when he pulled away after a few seconds, leaving you feeling cold and craving it once more. You stared at him, but he was looking toward the ground, appearing focused with his lowered brows and twisting mouth. He seemed lost in thought, and your heart twisted; it was almost like he forgot you were there in front of him, though he was still touching you.

“Saeran?” Your voice cracked. He brought his eyes to meet yours, and he seemed soft, a mood you’d never seen him in. “You… What was that?”

“Uh…” A red hue grazed his cheeks and he yanked his hands away. “I did that wrong, didn’t I? I never… That’s not something friends do… I’m sorry.” He turned his body away from yours.

“No, it’s okay. I didn’t think you would feel that way.”

“Why do you think I asked to try something?” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “ _ I _ didn’t even know. But…” he trailed off under his breath.

“But what?”

“I just—I…” he clenched his fists and huffed in frustration as his face gradually turned from rosy pink to persian red. “I don’t know! This isn’t like me. You just make me feel weird and light and dizzy when you look at me, laugh, talk—you make me feel sick, but I don’t hate it… I just needed to see if  _ this  _ is what’s described in those cheesy movies and shit—”

As he rambled, your shaky hand gravitated toward your mouth to try to hide your growing smile. It hurt a bit to watch him panic, but watching and listening to him reveal his feelings was slightly endearing. He seemed to become more apprehensive with every word spoken, and you wanted to help calm him down, and reassure him that his feelings were reciprocated.

You put your hand on the back of Saeran’s neck and pulled him in for another kiss; this time, less rushed, but just as doting. He flinched with a sharp gasp and tense lips, but after a second you felt his hand return to its previous position on your shoulder. The warmth from his mouth made you shiver; the rest of your body felt icy in comparison. He slowly relaxed and let himself melt in the tranquility.

You drew back but still kept your forehead pressed to his. His mint eyes flew open and remained wide as he stared into yours, lips slightly parted in shock.

“So it is…” he whispered. 

“What?”

“It’s… I  _ really  _ like you. Probably more than I should as a friend.” His voice cracked upon uttering the last word

“Maybe,” a smile grew on your face and you grabbed his free hand, lacing your fingers with his, “I could be your girlfriend?”

It astounded you that he could blush any deeper. He drew back and stared at your hand holding his in awe. “I’ve never even had a  _ friend  _ before you. I’m scared I’ll be a bad person, I won’t be who you want me to be.”

“We don’t have to—”

“No!” He abruptly cut you off, causing you to jump. “Sorry. It’s just… I’m still trying to improve as a person and I don’t want to let you down if my progress reverts. I’m _much_ more than you think I am,” he dropped his head to stare at the grass.

You pulled your hand away from his. “If you’re not ready, that’s okay. I’ll still be your friend.”

“But it’ll kill me. I really want to be…” he seemed too embarrassed to finish his statement. “I don’t want to be greedy, though.”

You tilted your head to the side and grinned. “I’m willing to stand by you.”

He looked back up at you with a pleading expression. He seemed so vulnerable; the vibrant luster in his eyes told you that he was on the verge of tears.

“Would you?”

_ (ayy 17 ^^) _


	22. Chapter 22

“I hate myself being so weak like this in front of you. I’m sorry.” Saeran’s tone would lead you to believe that he was vacant and indifferent, but the fear swirling in his light rheumy eyes screamed otherwise. Maybe  _ fear  _ isn’t the correct word; perhaps a mixture of dejection and chagrin that blended oh-so-perfectly to create a unique gloom that  _ mimicked  _ fear. Whatever he was feeling, it was strong enough to produce a single tear which slowly trailed down his rose-dusted cheek, causing your heart to ache. He swallowed thickly and stared down at his lap. 

While Saeran’s drastic change in demeanor over the previous week was shocking, you didn’t treat him any differently like he expected you to. He had shared his concerns before that since you had managed to break down his firm exterior and revealed the cluster of emotions he was, you would now see him as nothing more than a delicate weed. Remembering his heartbreaking words and now seeing him shivering and slouching next to you on the sofa, he appeared so vulnerable.

“Nobody can smile all the time,” you stared into Saeran’s beautiful aqua irises when he looked up at you. His eyes gravitated to the blanket that hung off of your shoulders, the one that he had given you to stay warm in his cool apartment. He reached forward and grabbed a portion of the soft fabric, rubbing it between his fingers. Without thinking, you grabbed the corner of the blanket and wrapped your arm around his shoulder, covering his back.

“Why are you so nice to me?” he fully enveloped himself in the cloth. A soft blush painted his skin when he realised that the new arrangement forced you to press against his side. 

“I care about you,” you snaked your arms around his waist and rested your head on his collarbone to try to communicate that your words weren’t empty. “You kept me safe.”

“It was because of me that you could have been hurt. I don’t deserve your kindness,” he shook his head. His quieted voice was fruity, yet brittle. He made no effort to reciprocate your affection, which burned, but you tried your best to be understanding.

“At least it’s over for the most part. Like you said, you can work on becoming a better person.” 

The only response you received was the slow, quiet, stuttering breath that he took. As he breathed out, you felt his head drop to lightly rest on your own, and you couldn’t prevent the smile from taking over your face.

“You’re the only person who’s been so… sweet to me,” he whispered with clear pain in his breath, “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t. I’m here to stand by you, Saeran. I told you.” You didn’t anticipate the stinging pain behind your eyes and the obvious crack in your voice as you spoke. You bit your lip and tried to hold back tears; it was nearly impossible to tell if they were brought about by happiness that he thought of you highly, pity for the unbearable mental war he was suffering from, or simple adoration. You felt him quickly move his arms from his sides to around your shoulders in a tight hug, so tight that it seemed he thought you would fade away at any moment.

“I need to answer your questions, but you won’t like what I say,” his voice was surprisingly stable in comparison to his strained breathing. “It sounds like something straight out of a game.”

“As long as you’re honest with me,” you adjusted your grip to hold him closer, “I’ll listen to you.”

~*~

You sat in silence as you tried to wrap your head around the events told to you. There were multiple layers to the shock; your main question wasn’t anything related to the events, though. Your mind was hung up on one thought:  _ How is he this nice after going through all of  _ that?

“...I should have told you earlier.” Saeran spoke after a few minutes of silence, and you felt him shake his head. The two of you hadn’t let go of each other the entire time he talked.

“You talked about flashbacks before.” It felt like you were walking on eggshells, like any wrong word could send him down a spiral. 

“Yeah. Nightmares, too. It’s only really memories with my mom, I guess I’ve kind of repressed most of what happened at Mint Eye. It’s a blur.” 

Rather than breaking down and drowning in anguish, Saeran seemed to become calmer after putting everything out in the open. You could hear his heartbeat, though, which revealed that he was merely putting on a mask; his heart was beating rapidly and loud as a drum.

“Thank you.” Saeran began to lightly comb his fingers through your hair, making your eyes flutter shut, “For everything. It’s been killing me to keep so much from you. Thank you for being someone I can trust.”

“This is still a lot to take in.” Hearing the synopsis of his life and the abuse he faced all at once would be enough to put  _ anyone  _ knee-deep in shock and incredulity. Upon feeling his hand stop and his shoulders become rigid, you panicked, worrying that you had said the wrong thing. “I believe you, I do! And I won’t—I don’t see you any differently.” It was hard to find the words to convey what was meant.

“I’m scared to tell my brother.” Saeran resumed his movements and relaxed, albeit a little. “He must have trusted V. I wonder if he’ll be able to forgive him, though…”

“How were you able to forgive Saeyoung? You only recently learned the truth, didn’t you?”

Saeran sighed, “It took a while, and I'm not even sure if I forgive him completely, to be honest. Not yet, at least. I’m still in therapy for everything, she’s been helping me let go of those lies. I can’t trust Rika at  _ all;  _ everything she told me was just to control me.”

A flurry of feelings took over you, but one was stronger than any other: happiness for Saeran. He was able to let go of the lies that he was spoon-fed for the better part of 18 months. A small grin appeared on your face.

“I’m really glad you’re getting better,” you said. 

"You're doing a lot to help," he started with an unexpected chuckle, "right now it feels like you're one of the most important people to me. Thank you."

_ (i renamed the fic to Stand By Me if you hadn’t noticed bc i felt it was more appropriate. also, what’s this, the seventh time ive apologised? school is beating me to the ground and im stressed out of my fucking mind so uploads may be a bit slower. not over though! thank you for reading, my loves) _


	23. Chapter 23

It felt like the information Saeran dropped on you all at once manifested as a metaphorical weighted blanket resting on your shoulders, dragging along the ground as you tread through the streets on your way home. You shivered lightly in the young spring air. The town was all too quiet in the evening, as always, but your raging thoughts kept you company. Leaving his apartment and properly processing the news allowed more emotions and thoughts to grow.

A year before, you first joined the RFA because of someone simply named ‘Unknown,’ claiming to be looking for the owner of a lost phone. You had spent a majority of your waking moments pondering who he really was. The thoughts and curiosities had dwindled over time; Saeran’s confession, however, was a strong storm wreaking havoc on the peace. 

The silence in his apartment was uncomfortably thick as soon as you left. You had spoken sweet, reassuring words, but the events moments before contradicted such sentiment. The scene kept replaying in his head: his venting, your sudden stiff stance, his internal panic, then your calm, awkward exit. Saeran’s gaze was glued to the door for an indiscernible amount of time after it shut behind you. He was only able to snap out of his trance at the soft ding of his phone across the room, which felt jarring in the still. It took him a few moments to gather the energy to move.

**707**

You’ve been awfully quiet.

**Unknown**

I could say the same to you.

**707**

I didn’t see you at Boramae last week.

Saeran allowed a dry chuckle to escape his parted lips as he crafted his reply.

**Unknown**

You sure? I saw you.

**707**

You don’t know what I look like, though. It could have been someone else.

**Unknown**

Then how do you know you didn’t see me?

You don’t know what I look like, either.

**707**

There were only two people, and I know both of them.

Saeran’s short chuckle erupted into full laughter. Isn’t his brother supposed to be _smart?_ How has he not connected the dots?

**Unknown**

Did you only contact me to tell me about Boramae?

You said you’d expose the information to the police and get that guy arrested.

Have you?

**707**

It’s been a week.

Do you take me for a procrastinator?

**Unknown**

I mean, you’re not always serious.

You’re always joking in the RFA chatroom.

**707**

That doesn’t determine my ability.

I can have fun, can’t I?

**Unknown**

I never explicitly said you couldn’t.

Your priorities worry me quite a bit, though.

**707**

Why?

**Unknown**

You contact me after a week of silence.

Not to report to me about the arrest of the man who was threatening my life,

But to tell me you didn’t get the chance to meet me face-to-face.

**707**

;;

I thought you would’ve assumed that I’d gotten things wrapped up.

**Unknown**

You mean you weren’t planning to update?

Thanks.

Saeran rolled his eyes and sighed as he sent his sarcastic message.

**707**

I’m sorry.

I did get it done, though.

I just thought the updates would have been unnecessary after I confirmed I located the guy and the drug ring.

An idea sprang into Saeran’s mind and he smirked. _Let’s have some fun._

**Unknown**

One last thing.

**707**

You plan to fall off the grid after this conversation, don't you?

You mean you’re not going to fulfill your end of the deal?

We agreed that I’d help you on the basis that you expose yourself.

It’s fair, don’t you think?

For attacking our private server and sending someone, I mean.

**Unknown**

Calm the fuck down.

I am not going to go silent.

Here.

Saeran sent the address of his apartment without thinking twice about his past actions.

**Unknown**

Go here. You’ll find me ^^

**707**

...isn’t this how you lured MC into joining RFA?

How do I know you’re not going to do something shady?

**Unknown**

Ah, I didn’t think of that.

You’re smart for once, look at that.

**707**

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

And what is this about?

**Unknown**

I understand if you have trust issues.

Words mean next to nothing.

After all, the same thing happens in your agency all the time, doesn’t it?

They make a promise to make the situation seem safe, maybe even offer something to you.

But once they get you in their trap, they manipulate, blackmail, maybe kill.

Am I correct?

**707**

How do you know what I do?

Are you an agent?

**Unknown**

I don’t work for anyone anymore.

I never worked in a field like that.

**707**

Now I have to listen to you, huh?

I mean, you have this information on me.

You’re just as dirty as them.

**Unknown**

I never said I’d hurt you.

It’s just your paranoia.

I’m simply saying I understand why you’re suspecting me.

**707**

Why don’t we just meet up at a public place like we planned?

It’s not like Boramae is gone.

**Unknown**

Because this guarantees that we will meet.

It’s my home.

**707**

…

And YOU called ME an idiot.

**Unknown**

I’m not afraid of you.

I know who you are.

Wow, that sounds menacing.

**707**

Who the fuck are you?

How do I know I can trust you?

**Unknown**

You know what? Fine.

I’m not out to get you, I haven’t been for months, now.

But if you want me to, I can blackmail you.

I know you.

And what do you know about me?

I have the high ground.

Although Saeran knew that he shouldn’t be, he couldn’t help but smirk at the panic his brother was displaying. It felt like a game, role-playing, almost. He didn’t care about his progress; he could drop the malicious façade after he convinced Saeyoung. He’ll learn about the circumstances, anyway, he’ll learn that it’s not as dangerous as he thinks. 

**707**

You’re a sadist, aren’t you?

**Unknown**

I’ve tried to be nice, but it’s because you won’t believe me.

And I’m not going to lie, this is fun.

But you can trust me,

Saeyoung Choi.

_(sorry ive been gone without notice. depression and anorexia are no joke. i unfortunately cant promise it wont happen again. happy holidays my loves)_


	24. Chapter 24

i’ve been taking time away for my health, both physical and mental, and i will continue to do so, so you can consider this another hiatus. thank you for being so understanding, seriously. i love writing this but at the moment i'm just not in the right state to work; i'm dealing with health problems (no covid fortunately, but i'd rather not go into detail), depression, suicidal thoughts, stress, school, and just a constant state of fatigue. i'm not able to think straight.

i'll be back eventually; i won't say when, because i don't know, and i don't want to promise something and then stress when i'm still not ready by then.

thanks

-ry


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